Beyond The Surface
by Demica Webb Kempton
Summary: The Goddess will return... She will lead us to Paradise. With these words in mind, I returned to my home planet. My enemies come in the form of my memories and the megalomania known as Shinra. Our Destiny is right in front of us, all because of Loveless.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, just my characters.

Summary: Midgar holds a lot of secrets. The world is oblivious to what they are doing to their Planet. A girl prays to the Planet when it tells her of a loss, and the coming of two new souls. The world is dying, only a few people are standing to fight, the search for the Promised Land has started, and the truth is about to be thrown into the open. Christie and Angel are involved with this. Christie, out of chance, and Angel, because of her buried past. And everything started with one little book: Loveless.

For this story to make sense, I suggest you read Connection: New Game and Looking Glass.

Beyond the Surface

Prologue

I opened my eyes, waking up to feel water dripping down my face. It seemed odd to me, not because it was raining, that was a natural phenomenon, but the rain seemed to hold a sadness to it. As though it was someone weeping.

Standing up, I stared blankly at my surroundings. Nothing but rainy, barren wilderness as far as the eye could see. Except for the intimidating city that loomed a few miles away from where we were. In the centre was a high building which loomed over the rest of the city.

I could hear a noise overhead, I looked up to see a helicopter soaring above us. My eyes followed it until I realised that it was heading for the city. I wondered who was in that helicopter, and if they were important; if they were heading to the huge building in the centre of the city. I'm sure I knew that city from when I was younger. But was it the same place? Had it only gotten larger? True... it _had_ been a long time since I had laid eyes to the place.

But I needed to get there... both of us did. Although she was unconsious. Poor girl... it's going to be so hard on her when she wakes up. I'll probably be hit around the head, should she wake up completely furious with me. I doubt she'd wake up for some time yet.

The rain had began to lighten as I crouched down and placed her on my back, her arms over my shoulders to keep her from falling off. I looked at the city again, then began making my way towards it. My mind was now only focused in getting to the city. And even though I concentrated on that, words from the past managed to echo in my thoughts.

_You need to go back_

_He's alive_

_Incase the truth changed you for the worst_

_When something... becomes too powerful... it is soon seen as a threat... and it soon becomes the enemy..._

_Angie... you're the Threat..._

_Execute her now!_

My thoughts were broken when a scream rang out across the watseland. The rain stopped completely and the sun began to beat down, it's light seemed... I can't explain it, but it was comforting somehow...

Once the scream faded, I continued walking. But I knew I would never forget that scream.

As I slowly trudged my way to the city, I realised that it was much further away than I had thought. It would probably be well into the night before we arrived there. But I needed to get there before she woke up. I felt as though I was on a time limit. I needed to get there. I needed to get there...

"No... don't..." She began to mutter in her sleep. I did my best to ignore it; doing my best to focus on something else. Try as I might I managed to recall the one question she asked which forced me to revisit horrors I had done best to forget.

_What's 'Jenova'?_

Jenova... and the mentions of a silver haired man. Who had eyes similar to my own... I knew. I knew at that precise moment who she was speaking of. I haven't seen him for... ten years... at least that's I think...

I wonder... is the bastard who did this still alive?

If he is... I'll kill him.

It felt odd, I doubt any of them would reconise me. In my head I can only go back to toughts of revenge and closure. Anger kept building inside of me. Slowly, but surely, it would be too much to handle. The thought of that man being alive made my blood boil, yet it also made fear rise within me.

My pace had increased, trying to ignore the weight on my back. It was growing darker by the minute. I knew that if I kept going straight I'd make it. What I'd do once I got there... I'm not sure... I just needed to get there.

Get there... find him... kill him... get out of there... find him...

But where was he...?

Darkness had taken over when I reached a huge gate. Everyone was probably asleep now. I stared at the gates, '05' was painted onto it in white. As I got closer they opened. I quickly ran in, which was difficult because I was carrying a person on my back. I didn't look back, I started to make my way down what seemed like a slum area.

But as I walked further away from the gates, I spotted something, just out of the corner of my eye, that quickly grabbed my attention for a moment.

A small church.

* * *

A/N: I've had this chapter for while, but I wanted to post it today (7th April) because it's my birthday. Yay! Anyway, please review, and thank you.


	2. Avalanche's New Recruits

Avalanche's New Recruits

I looked up at the huge clocked that hung from the bottom of the Plate. It read '4:19 AM' in Midgar standard time. When I had arrived in Midgar, I managed to find someone to give me directions to a train station, which is where I am now. They seemed to laugh at my confusion when they said 'Sector 7 Slums', when I entered the city I was in Sector 5, and on the other side of this Plate was where the richer people lived, above the slums. When I first came to Midgar there was no Plate. It was just a small city.

Well, small compared to what it is now.

I was sitting on the steps, Christie was beside me, still unconsious. She was leaning against me, so she wouldn't fall. I had to wait for a while until the next train to the Plate, and I only had a little Gil for that. I didn't even know what I would do if we even got there.

I turned to my right and saw a woman looking at the board that told the times of arrival and departure of trains. She had been glancing at me, but quickly looked away when I turned my head. She had very long, dark brown hair that was in a large ponytail, a short black skirt, a white tank top, gloves and brown boots. When she glanced over at me again I saw that her eyes were brown in colour. It seemed as though I made her nervous. When she glanced at me it was as though she was double-checking, in case she had seen wrongly.

Our session of exchanging looks only went on for a short time. I had began to feel uncomfortable with the whole ordeal.

"Can I help you?" I asked, it was quite sudden so it made her jump in surprise. She stared at me now, right into my eyes. I did my best not to hold the defensive, intimidating look they usually had. The only person who wasn't afraid of that look was Christie.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep staring at you," She said. I nodded in acceptance of her apology. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "I haven't seen you around here before. Where are you going?"

"We're trying to get to the top of the Plate," I gestured to myself and the still unconsious best friend of mine. "She collapsed from exhaustion, I carried her here myself."

"It's not that easy staying on the Plate," She said. "You could end up back down here so fast your head will spin."

"I just need to get into Shinra Headquarters..." I muttered, rage creeping into my voice. "I need to stop them..."

"You don't like the Shinra, do you?" The woman asked me. I shook my head in reply. "The Shinra made me lose my Dad, my hometown..."

"Shinra killed my Aunt and my cousin... and my best friend," I muttered. "I'm going to do anything... just to get back at them..." There was a long silence that fell upon us. Then she said something which sent a rush of hope through me.

"I know people who could help with that," My head shot up and I stared at her in amazement. "Come on, it's not that far from here," I pulled myself and Christie up, then the woman held out her hand. "I'm Tifa. Tifa Lockhart." I nodded and shook her hand briefly.

"Angel... Lindon..." I could tell she was suspicious when I hesitated with my last name, but I did my best to ignore it. She turned her back to me and started walking away, so I followed her, carrying Christie along with me.

* * *

It had been a long time now since I had gotten myself and Christie to the '7th Heaven' bar, and Tifa had left to find some guy called... I think it was 'Barret' or something. I could hear them argueing from the room below. I was starting to be convinced that the whole slum area could hear them. What surprised me was that Christie hadn't been wakened by the shouting.

About five minutes later Tifa had come back into the room. With her was a tall, bulky man with a stern look on his face. He had dark skin and wore dark green trousers, brown boots and a brown jacket, and on his left hand was a fingerless glove. What made him look even more intimidating was that his right arm had been replaced with a gun. I did my best not to stare at it, in case he would be offended.

"Angel, this is the leader of Avalanche, Barret Wallace," Tifa said to break the silence. I nodded in greeting to him.

"So you wanna join Avalanche?" He asked bluntly. I regained my composure and looked up at him.

"If it means I'll be a huge thorn in Shinra's side, then yes," I replied in a firm tone. I did my best to not have my voice waver. He was extremely tall and intimidating. If he wanted to he could probably crush me.

"What about her?" He gestured over to Christie. I glanced over at her, then to Barret again.

"Anyone I go, she follows. And vice versa," I answered. "We can both fight, before you ask. She uses arm blades, I use a staff."

"I thought you were a gunslinger," Tifa spoke up, pointing to the gun in the holster strapped to my right thigh. I looked down at it. I traced over it with my fingers then sighed.

"I only use it sparingly," I told them slowly. Another silence fell down on us, which made me feel awkward. I cleared my throat and looked at the ground. "Umm... I guess it's a no, then?"

"Tifa told me what ya told her. About what Shinra did to you," I nodded slowly. "You really wanna take 'em down? Ya not gonna be scared or shit?"

"I won't back down I promise," I said. I waited for his reply, but it didn't come in the way I expected it.

"Hmph, you better not," He then left the room and I stared at Tifa. "Yo Tifa! Fill her in on the mission!" Tifa just sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"This will be a long night..." She mumbled.


	3. Former Soldier

Former Soldier

I managed to get... one hour of sleep after Tifa told me about the mission. I had been sitting at the bar for most of the morning, just thinking. I don't know how I was going to explain this to Christie. And why was Tifa so afraid when she looked at me? More specifically, my eyes. Whenever she looked at me, I would suddenly feel isolated, hated, feared.

"How long have you been awake?" I turned my head to face Tifa. I only shrugged in reply, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Is Christie awake yet?" I asked.

"No, she's still unconsious," Well, it gave me some more time to think on my explination. "Is that... a Bloody Mary?" I stared down at my drink for a moment, then looked back up.

"Yeah," I nodded. I could tell Tifa was slightly surprised at this. Not because I was drinking, it was a different reason.

"It's only quarter past ten. In the morning!" She said. True, it was far too early to be drinking, but I needed to calm my nerves. It was a few months ago I started a habit of drinking when I was stressed. I knew when I had to stop, so it never effected my fighting skills or put me in danger. Plus I have an unusally high tolerance of alcohol.

"I just need to... relieve some stress," I explained poorly. "It's not the best way to relieve it, I know, but it _is_ a way."

"Well, as long as you know when to stop, we can't have you intoxicated on this mission," I nodded in reply. I finished the drink and turned away from Tifa. Normally when I felt that I was in an uncomfortable situation I would bring my hand to the three scars permentantly engraved on my face. But I didn't this time.

"Is there anything you can do for Christie?" I asked, not attempting to hide my desperation.

"Well, there is one thing I could get," I spun around, desperate to know what it was. "I could get some Cure Materia, but I'm using the money we're paying you for this mission, agreed?"

"... Materia?" I sounded surprised. Since when was Materia so common? I've only seen about three pieces of Materia in my lifetime. Tifa just stared at me as if I was an idiot. "Erm... how much would it cost?"

"Over half of what we're paying you," Tifa replied. I was getting paid two thousand Gil for this. And I had about seven hundred Gil on me already. From what I've seen in the slums already, money seems to be hard to get. But if this was going to help Christie then it didn't really matter.

* * *

For the rest of that morning Tifa and I went around the slums shopping for food, drink, and other things Tifa needed for the bar. I also got to know her a little better. She said that she came to Midgar a few years ago and set up the bar, where she met Barret and she helps Avalanche by using her bar as the hideout. She wouldn't say where she came from, so I didn't press her for answers.

"Angel," Tifa turned to me as we headed back to the train station, just to check that the train to Sector 8 was still going tonight. "Were you... ever in Soldier?"

Soldier? I froze suddenly at the word. I almost dropped what I was carrying out of shock.

_This will be the start of a new era. Shinra's new army, the army of Soldier!_

"Angel? Are you okay?" I turned away from Tifa, shaking my head as though I was trying to shake out the memory.

"Fine..." I replied. My hands felt clammy and my heart rate suddenly went faster than a rampaging Chocobo. I couldn't believe that... the Soldier idea... worked? It was still working? Then that means Shinra were... near to invincible. It's been so long, so they've probably almost perfected it, making them a powerful force. "Why did you... think I was in Soldier?"

"The Mako glow in your eyes," Tifa stated. "That's a sign of Soldier."

"I was born with this," I shook my head, closing my eyes. "My Aunt said that my Mother had the same glow in her eyes," I opened my eyes again and looked behind Tifa. "... Who's that?" She turned around to look at a man with spiky blonde hair wearing a uniform like outfit. Tifa seemed to reconise him because she gasped in shock and ran straight over to him, I followed her and crouched down beside the man.

"This can't be..." Tifa mumbled, trying to shake him awake. I brought out the Cure Materia and held it in my hand. In honesty, I didn't know how to use Materia. I just thought of a Cure spell and suddenly it glowed. The glow then left the Materia and directed itself towards the blonde man. He stirred slightly and began to wake up.

"Who is he?" I asked, looking at Tifa.

"He's a friend of mine..." She said slowly. "Cloud? Is it really you?"

"Ugh... uh..." This 'Cloud' looked up at her with dazed, blue eyes. I instantly noticed the Mako glow in them. "... Tifa?"

"Cloud!" Tifa grinned happily. "I never thought I'd find you here! ... Are you okay? You don't look to well..."

"It's nothing... I'm okay..." He turned his head to face me, and instantly he looked at my eyes, which made him glare at me. I immediantly backed away from him. Tifa noticed this and got Cloud's attention away from me.

"How long has it been?" She asked him. Cloud glared at me for a little while longer before softening his gaze at Tifa.

"It's been... five years..." Tifa paused at this answer, it seemed to confuse her. I was slightly hurt by the glare. Usually glares didn't phaze me, but this one did. It was like he was blaming me for something...

I've never met him in my life. How is that possible? How could he and Tifa reconise my eyes as someone else's?

What was I being blamed for?


	4. From Hero To Terrorist

From Hero To Terrorist

"Alright, we should be reachin' the Reactor soon so get ready!" Barret yelled at the five of us before leaving. Tifa had convinced him to let Cloud come along, and I wasn't leaving Christie behind even if Barret had doubts that she'd wake up in time. We had used the Cure Materia on her, but it didn't do much to help.

I looked around the group of people, who seemed to make up all of Avalanche. Two guys, one was quite muscular and the other was quite the opposite, the third person was a woman with red hair. Cloud Strife, Christie and I were the new recruits. Cloud claimed to be a First Class Soldier, which was the strongest rank of Soldier, so I guessed that he was quite strong. We've only known each other for a few hours, and he would only give me glares of downright hatred.

He glared at me once more before standing up and heading to the roof of the train. He had an enormous sword strapped to his back and was also equipped with Bolt and Ice Materia. I turned to Christie, who seemed to stir slightly. I was starting to grow impatient. This was important and I needed her awake.

"Christie, wake up," I shook her lightly as the train began to come to a halt. Her eyes snapped open and she immediantly looked at me. It was odd, usually she was less alert after regaining consiousness.

"Angie, what the Hell is going on!?" She yelled. She still thought we were in Besaid. Poor thing. I stood up and took a metal staff off my back.

"No time to explain, follow me," I said, immediantly going into my usual stern tone I talked with. It was such a habit, one I needed to give up. I climbed up the ladder and jumped off the train, right behind Cloud. The other three and Barret got off the train and ran into the nearby building. Christie jumped down beside me and stared at Barret, then Cloud, then myself.

"Alright, follow me!" Barret ordered. As soon as he was out of sight two guards appeared and attacked the three of us. Cloud expertly dashed towards them and took one out. Before he could get to the other guard I ran in and crashed the guard's skull with my staff. I looked at Christie and signalled her to follow us into the building.

* * *

"I still don't understand why Soldiers are working with us!" The woman yelled at the muscular man. Cloud, Christie and I arrived to hear them argue, but we weren't noticed. "What if they're undercover working for Shinra or something?"

"Hey relax, they quit Shinra," The guy said, trying to calm her down. I noticed their use of plural words. They thought I was in Shinra? A Soldier like Tifa mistook me for.

"If I may interrupt," I said, crossing my arms. "I was never in Soldier." Cloud stepped forward and backed up my claim, in his own, venomous way of course.

"It's true. I've never seen her in Shinra's ranks," He said before turning to me and glaring. "Even if she resembles a _Soldier_." That last word was poisonous to the ear. I could tell by the tone that he was comparing me to another Soldier. I didn't want to think on it.

"Hey, Angie," Christie tapped me on the shoulder to grab my attention. "Usually when we're thrown into a battle I know what we're fighting for." How was I going to explain this to her? Christie was renowned as a hero on Spira. But on Gaia... she'd be known as a terrorist.

Quite a big jump of honour, is it not?

"By the way, we didn't catch your names," The man said. I thanked the Planet for giving me a few more moments to get my story straight for her.

"... Cloud Strife," Cloud said bluntly, clearly not interested in formalities.

"Uh, I'm Christie Wilson," Christie shrugged, unsure if she could trust them.

"Angel Lindon..." I replied, still completely unsure of my name. It was fine when I used it on Spira...

"Uh-huh, well, I'm Biggs, that's Wedge and that's Jessie," The man, Biggs, said with a grin.

"I don't care about your names," Cloud stated. "Once this job's over I'm outta here." I turned to Christie, her face was filled with confusion from the conversation. I merely shrugged in response. The doors opened and the three ran inside. Barret looked at the three of us before motioning us to follow him.

"Angie," Christie said. I turned around to face her. "Please explain to me what the Hell is going on!" I looked at her blankly, doing my best to hide my emotions from her. I could have come alone, but because of that dream... it seems that she's needed here, too.

"... Welcome to Midgar," I shrugged, running to catch up with the rest of Avalanche. Then I heard a screech come from her, which made me run even faster.

* * *

"You're not gettin' away _that_ easy!" She yelled, catching up on me. I saw the rest of Avalanche just ahead of me and turned my run into a sprint, skidding to a halt when we reached a bridge. Everyone looked at me strangely, except Cloud of course, who gave me the usual glare. I was about to speak but a raven haired blur tackle me and pinned me against the wall, one of the blades on her guantlets under my chin. At that moment I heard several weapons being drawn.

"Don't attack her," I ordered them. "It's alright... she's just a little angry..." Christie was glaring at me. It wasn't hatred in her eyes but instead it was pure fury. "Just go ahead and do the mission, I'll talk to her." They all seemed unsure to just leave, but Cloud couldn't care less about what happened to me, so he just turned and left, the rest following soon after.

Once they left I quickly grabbed Christie's wrist and pushed her back forcefully. She immediantly reacted with a kick to my side. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. She tried to punch me in the jaw but I ducked and stood behind her, elbowing her in the back then returning the kick she gave me. Christie fell to the floor but instantly jumped back up and summoned a small knife which she threw at me.

I grabbed the knife just as it became within an inch of impaling my face. I tossed the blade down to the ground and sighed at Christie.

"What is with you?" I asked, staying calm. Well, one of us needed to.

"What is with me?" Christie glared. "I'll tell you what's with me! My best friend has thrown into fuck knows where and I have no idea what the fuck has gotten into her or why she's done it!"

"Be quiet, I think the whole Sector heard you," I muttered with a shake of my head. Then I registered what she said and snapped my head up. "Do you think I'd do something like this without a good reason?" I asked harshly. "I thought you knew me better," I turned around and started heading for the inside of the Reactor. "We've got work to do, come on."

"What kind of work?" Christie asked angrily. I paused and thought about my answer. No, I'm not going to beat around the bush with her.

"See this Reactor?" I asked, pointing to it. "We're going to blow it up." I turned around and saw that the colour in her face had drained, her eyes were wide, and she was in complete and utter shock. Well I can't blame her.


	5. Big Bang

Big Bang

"Angie I can't believe you'd make me do this!" Christie yelled as we walked down a huge flight of stairs. Biggs had informed us that Jessie, Cloud and Barret had come down here. "What if these are the bad guys?"

"How do you know that there is a battle between good and evil currently taking place?" I questioned.

"What if we end up becoming villians?" She questioned back.

"Why are you so negative?" I locked a challenging gaze on her, seeing if she would counter.

"Are you insane?" She glared. I could only reply with a shrug, turning away from her and going down a ladder. "Seriously, I know you do everything for a reason but working for bad guys was something I didn't think you were capable of doing!"

"They're not bad guys... persay," I told her, staring down at the bright liquid beneath us. "I believe what they are doing if for Gaia's benifit."

"What did you say?" Oh... I must have not told her that we were not on Spira. Far from it, actually.

"Christie, this is my home world of Gaia," I said calmly. "Please don't go into a fit of rage and try beat the living daylights out of me."

"Wasn't going to," She snapped, shoving past me and storming over the walkway. I suppose it was the silent treatment for a while, then? She'd understand eventually. I thought I had taught her everything happens for a reason. Apparently not.

* * *

"Took you two long enough!" Barret said as we arrived at the core of the Reactor. I looked at Cloud, who was holding a bomb, an unsure look on his face. Christie eyed the bomb, then gave me a sideways glare.

"My friend is quite unsure if your motives are for the greater good," I gestured towards Christie who crossed her arms and looked away. "I tried to explain it to her, but she's quite stubborn in her beliefs."

"More like I know the difference between heroism and terrorism," She muttered, only I heard her, though. Cloud moved towards the Reactor core and placed it on slowly. I raised my eyebrow at his pace. Why was he uncertian? I'd certianly like to know that.

As soon as the bomb was in place I heard something from behind us. It sounded mechanical, so that clearly wasn't good. I gripped my staff tightly and turned around to meet a huge mech robot, probably a guard of the Reactor. Christie gaped and instinctively drew her Arm Blades. Both Cloud and Barret got their weapons out.

The robot shot a laser from its arm which spread us out across the small area we were stuck in. It turned to Christie and shoot off a few rounds of bullets, She managed to dogde and block most of them, but did get hit a couple of times. Cloud jumped up and hacked it, leaving a huge gash in the side of it. The blonde rolled out of the way as Barret shot at it, making it reel backwards.

It suddenly turned to me and I froze. I felt as though it was scanning me. What if it... what if Shinra found out who I was? I raised my staff and jumped up, impaling the robot then jumping behind it. It turned around and show several lasers at me, which I dodged and leapt onto the wall. Something which startled the rest of the group.

"What are you waiting for!?" I yelled, wanting them to attack the robot. I pushed myself off the wall and jumped up to a pip hanging on the roof, placing my staff on my back and bringing out my gun, firing off at it. I could see the others distracting the robot and ripping it apart. It then raised its tail and shot a laser at Cloud, who reflected it with his sword, and it bounced off into the wall, creating a huge hole.

It knocked Cloud and Barret to the side and began heading towards Christie, who was now backed into the wall. Come on Christie, why won't you use Magnetism?

Soon she gained some sense and streched out her arms and made it stop in its tracks, even though it fought the force halting it. Christie threw her arm out to the side and her Magnetism ripped off the upper half of the robot and make it fall into the Mako below. I dropped down and landed beside her. Cloud and Barret stared at both us as though we were from a different Planet.

Well, Christie was.

"Right, we gotta split before this bomb blows!" Barret announced, turning to leave with Cloud following. I looked at Christie, and put an arm in front of her as she went towards the bomb.

"It'll blow once the timer ends. We can't stop it," I told her firmly, noticing the upset on her expression. "There's no going back... please trust that I would do nothing to jeopordise your honour." I had nothing else to say to her, I turned heel and started to run, hoping she'd have enough sense to follow.

* * *

"Hey! C'mon you guys!" Biggs yelled as we ran out of the Reactor. I wasn't sure where Christie was. Did she follow? Bugger is she still down there?

"Christie's still down there!" I exclaimed.

"So's Jessie!" Barret added. I wasn't leaving without Christie. But if the bomb goes off...

"HEY!" We all turned to the elevator to see both Christie and Jessie emerging from it. I breathed a sigh of relief as they ran towards us.

"Are you alright?" I asked, looking at Christie. She didn't say anything to me, she just looked around the group.

"We have to go, I don't think the bomb'll let us stay here for any longer," She said to everyone. Not a minute after she said it we heard faint explosions. Instantly we started to sprint to the exit, with fire and smoke not far behind us. As we ran we saw a door that blocked our way to safety, stupid as it was, I threw myself into it and broke it open. I quickly got up and started running again.

If this attack didn't get Shinra's attention, then nothing would.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for updating, I kinda got sidetracked with another story I'm working on, plus I had Writer's Block on this. I'll be trying to work out a way to balance out the writing and updating of this story and the other one I have. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. My plans never work out correctly.

On another note, one review asks about why Christie doesn't know about the fact that the world she's in is Final Fantasy VII. Well, I'll just clear it up here: Christie has only played two of the Final Fantasy games, which are X and X-2. She never had a chance to buy and play the previous titles so knows nothing about them. Plus she also seems to show little to no memory of seeing Spira as a game world, as seen in the fic Looking Glass. And just as an add on of info, Angie doesn't know about Gaia or Spira being a 'game' because she was _born_ on Gaia and has never been to Earth before, so knows nothing of the gaming version of these worlds. Gaia is her home, not a fictatious land.

Okay, mini-rant over, I'll try to update soon. Angie probably might be slapped in the next chapter... she might get slapped a lot in this fic.


	6. Return To 7th Heaven Part 1

Back To 7th Heaven Part 1

I sat down in the small tunnel we had escaped through. Jessie was currently setting up another bomb to get us out of here and to the Train Station, then we would return to the 7th Heaven. As much as I tried not to, I kept worrying about what would happen if we got caught. What would they do to us? It probably wouldn't be worse than what I had to go through. Two years without light. Enough to drive anyone insane.

Yet my sanity was still intact... I don't know how...

"That should keep the Planet going... at least for a little while," Biggs commented. Christie looked about the group then at me, so I looked away from her.

"Could someone explain to me what the fuck we just did!?" She exclaimed. Everyone went silent and Barret stared at me.

"You didn't tell her?" He asked.

"Well... I didn't go into the finer details of the objective," I replied. Christie stood and glared at me as I stood up and folded my arms over my chest. Cloud joined her in a small glaring session at me. I could understand why Christie was pissed but I didn't do anything to Cloud. I rolled my eyes and looked at Barret. "Do you honestly think I'd have time to explain everything you and Tifa explained to me?" Christie didn't say anything and just turned away from me. I rolled my eyes at her. "Yes Christie, because acting like that will _certianly_ get us somewhere."

"You're one to talk, you keep everything hidden from me," Christie snapped. I stood up and glared at her.

"Well it's better you don't know," I said harshly. "I can't believe you're still the stubborn, idiotic girl you were seven years ago."

"_I'm _stubborn and idiotic!?" Christie yelled, poiting at herself for emphasis. "What about you? You're a naive little girl who always needs someone to rely on and you're so _obsessed_ with hiding everything when it could result in, I don't know, the end of the world! You're the one who's too stubborn and idiotic to see the bigger picture!" I was a little girl? How could she think that? "Why do I even bother trying? It's not like you ever tell me anything willingly!"

"You honestly don't get it, do you?" I asked her, my voice turning icy. "How would you feel if everything you believed, everything you knew, was suddenly worthless and meant nothing? How would you cope with knowing something that no one else did, and if you told anyone you could slowly pick away at thier sanity until they cracked? And you can't say anything because you're afriad of what could happen?" Christie glared at me, her eyes and posture not wavering in the slightest. The thick silence descended and no one was brave enough to break it.

"Are you finished yet?" Cloud asked, getting bored by our performance. I quickly snapped my head to the side and stared icily at him.

"This doesn't concern you, _Shinra dog_!" I snarled, making the whole of Avalanche back up. I looked back to Christie, but instead of a glare I was met with a hard slap in the face.

"Stop thinking that not saying anything is for a good cause..." She said slowly and venomously, letting her words cut into me. The only thing that broke the silence was the wall being turned from concrete to fire. Everyone went past us and jumped through, as though we weren't even there. Christie turned from me and followed them all silently. I held my still stinging cheek as I watched her jumped through the flames. I could understand perfectly why she has to hate me right now. I only hoped that she would understand why I never say anything.

When I jumped through the fire I seen Jessie, Biggs and Wedge run off in seperate directions. I wasn't sure why, until Barret explained it to me.

"We've gotta split up and get to the Train Station in this Sector, but make sure you're quick or you'll be left behind!" He said. I nodded and ran past Christie, who was standing by Cloud. I went up the stairs and towards a place called 'Loveless Street'. I was running so fast it took me a moment to realise that I had ran directly into someone. Halting, I spun back around and looked at a woman with brown hair wearing a pink dress with a red jacket on the ground. I wasn't sure why, but something was telling me to help her, and I always go with my instincts.

"Sorry about that," I said to her, offering her my hand. She took it and got up, nodding at me. "I was in a hurry." I know that was a pathetic excuse, but I couldn't exactly say I was part of a terrorist organization, could I? I noticed that she was staring at my eyes. I don't understand why everyone seemed to be obssesed with them since I arrived.

"... Um, could you tell me what happened?" She asked, making my throat freeze up. I honestly didn't know what to say, and I had nothing prepared to say to her. I stood there for a moment, like a deer in the headlights. The woman tilted her head to the side, still keeping eye contact with me. That was when I noticed something in her green eyes. I was silently shocked at it. I had seen those eyes before...

"Angie!" Christie and Cloud had ran up to us, wondering why I wasn't heading to the Train Station. "What are you still doing here? We have to go!"

"It's my fault," The woman said. "I was asking her what was going on, but she seems to have frozen up." She giggled at my nervous state, and I felt vulnerable at that point.

"It's nothing," Cloud stated firmly. Then he looked at the basket on the woman's arm, slightly interested in it. What was so special about it? It was only flowers. "You don't see many flowers around here." The woman looked down at the flowers, then back to Cloud.

"Do you like them? They're only a Gil," She smiled. Cloud took out a coin and handed it to her, silently Christie did the same. She gave them one flower each and turned her head to face me. "Do you want one, too?" I looked down at the basket, seeing a bunch of different colours, along with one or two white flowers. I sighed, pulling out one Gil and handing it to her. She took it and pulled out a white flower and handed it to me. I stared at it, feeling the petals and noting they were made of fabric.

"Fake?" I asked, slightly amused.

"The real flowers come from a place really far away and can only grow there," The woman explained. "I thought they looked nice, someone gave them to me to help sell them." I nodded slowly before muttering a thank you and walking off. The flower was odd, I mean it looked like a normal flower but I couldn't help get the odd feeling that I had seen one before. Perhaps I should've asked her where they grow.

* * *

"Hey! You two there!" My head shot up as I saw two men in uniforms advancing towards Cloud and Christie. They had their weapons out and were probably going to attack. They were too far away for my staff to reach them, so I think Magick is a good choice here. I formed a fireball in my hand and tossed it towards one of them, knocking them down and burning. I quickly drew my gun and fired a bullet at the second one, which managed to kill him. I put my gun back in the holster and walked up to Cloud and Christie.

"You both alright?" I asked, not getting a response. We heard gunfire and began to run into an ally, but had to back up because of more men in uniforms. We tried to run back and only ended up being cornered at a bridge overlooking a tunnel.

"This is what you get for defying Shirna! You're under arrest!" One yelled at us. So they were Shinra soldiers? We heard a train whistle as the soldiers came closer to us.

"We don't have time for this," Cloud muttered, jumping off the bridge, with Christie and I following.

* * *

A/N: Okay, all the readers deserve a MAJOR apology here! I'm so sorry, but I actually blame school 'cause of exams and essays and all that. But since the Summer's coming up you can expect an advancement in this story, since I've recovered from Writer's Block. I'm so sorry, I'm not giving up on this story, I swear I'm not!


	7. Return To 7th Heaven Part 2

Return To 7th Heaven Part 2

The three of us slowly made our way to the back of the train, honestly I was only following Christie and Cloud as they seemed to know where they were going. As time was going on I kept feeling more guilt for what I did to Christie, but I had to keep concentrating on my goal. Well, goals. I had one more thing to do once I was finished with Shinra, and that flower girl just... there was something about her that I couldn't exactly put my finger on. She looked incredibly familiar.

Cloud eventually went down the side of the train and began to unlock the carrage door. He then slid it open and swung inside, and Christie and I mimicked his actions. Inside the carrage was Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and Barret. Everyone seemed to be surprised about our appearance, they probably thought that we didn't make it.

"I guess we're late," Cloud stated blankly with crossed arms. Barret was clearly unimpressed by his attitude.

"You damn right you're late!" He yelled. "All of ya come waltzin' in making a big scene!" Cloud didn't seem to care about this, however. Noticing this, Barret scoffed and turned away, heading for the next carrage. "C'mon, we're movin' out!" The others congratulated Cloud and Christie about their performance while I just watched them walk on by. Soon everyone except me and Christie were in the next carrage. She stared at me for a long time. Then she finally spoke.

"I really don't understand," She said. "You bring me here... why couldn't you have done this by yourself? I don't know what my role in this is. I thought I had already completed my purpose a long time ago."

"I... I guess not..." I replied. "Look, the only reason I'm helping them is to get back at Shinra for killing Fina." Christie only stared with confusion written on her face.

"I thought the Superiors killed Fina," She said. No, the Superiors killed my parents and Shinra killed Fina. "I just figured... after all that's been said about the Superiors killing your parents, and your Mum asking Fina and Oblivion to look after you, and them being like shields for you... and then there's the trial; they said that if they destroyed the barriers to you they could kill you... so I thought... they killed Fina..." I wouldn't be surprised if she was right. But I had always thought Shinra killed Fina, after all of the experiments, the trauma of losing her child, if it wasn't for Shinra assigning her to that Project then none of this would have happened.

"I'm positive that the Shinra killed Fina," I shook my head, looking down at the ground. "It's because of them all of this happened. Look, all I need to do is get into Shinra and get revenge... then I promise we'll leave. But I need to go to... somewhere else, too..."

"You never explained what the Shinra do..." Christie said. I knew I had to explain the Shinra to her, otherwise my motives wouldn't make sense. I had hoped that once I had explained everything, we would have reached Sector 7.

* * *

The train stopped a few hours later and we all began to exit. Barret had gathered everyone to congratulate them on the success of the bombing. I couldn't concentrate, I didn't go to the group, I could only walk back slowly to the bar. Reality was sinking in slowly. I had killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people because of that attack. What the Hell have I done? I didn't think about it until now. I wanted Shinra's attention... but I killed so many people in the process...

What did I do?

I opened the doors to the 7th Heaven and looked about, the place was quite busy with a lot of drunks. Everyone's eyes were on the television in the bar. I quietly made my way over and got a look at what they were watching.

_"Just hours ago the Sector 8 Mako Reactor was bombed by the terrorist group Avalanche,"_ A reporter said. _"Several witnesses have spotted suspicious looking characters heading towards the Sector 8 Train Station, and have escaped the Shinra forces situated there at the time. However it is unlikely that Shinra will ignore this and an investigation will be brought about looking for the headquarters of Avalanche. Oh, hold on, we're getting some new information on the attack-" _It was suddenly cut off and everyone began yelling in demand for it to be turned back on. I looked over to Tifa, who had a stern look on her face.

"We're closing early! Time to get out!" Everyone groaned and started yelling again. Tifa rolled her eyes and nodded to someone behind me. I immediantly heard gunfire and all the drunks started screaming and ran out. I looked at Barret as he left the bar, then back to Tifa.

"Well at least it's effective," I said.

"I can see that the mission went as planned," Tifa smiled. "Did anyone end up fighting?"

"Me and Christie did... but we're on a civil talking basis now," I sighed. "I hope we can get to the Shinra soon." I heard the doors open and looked as everyone came in.

"We'll get a few more missions done, and then the Shinra will get what they deserve," Tifa smiled at everyone as they came in. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yup! we're all tired from that mission, but we're good," Biggs grinned, stretching his arms as he spoke. Christie sat on a table, her head hanging with a frown on her face. I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to her, she might be still trying to process everything I told her. It just made me keep thinking if what I was doing was right? Was it really right to keep my past hidden from her? She doesn't know about my objective... that's probably something I need to keep to myself. I can't get her involved, it would be too much for her.

"Papa!" A girl suddenly burst out from behind the bar and rushed to the door. Cloud entered through the doors and stared at the little girl. She didn't look any older than four or five, she had brown hair and big brown eyes, and she wore a pink coloured dress. She got a fright when Cloud appeared and she ran off to the back of the bar.

"Marlene, at least say 'hello' to Cloud," Tifa said softly, before looking at the blonde with a smile. "I'm glad to see you made it back safely... did you fight with Barret?" Cloud stared blankly, but then nodded in reply. "I knew it. When you were younger you got into fights at the drop of a hat, some things don't change, huh?" Barret came in soon after she had said that, which made the little girl, Marlene, squeal in excitment and hug the man. I had the feeling of nostalgia wash over me, and I just walked out of the bar.

* * *

Maybe this wasn't the right way to go. Maybe there was another way to get to the Shinra, but it wasn't obvious enough for me to see. I couldn't leave Christie behind, but I'm not sure about her feelings on Shinra. I did tell her what I knew, and what Tifa had told me, but she might see things differently. But she seems to be connecting with Cloud, a former Soldier from Shinra, so perhaps he might tell her why he left Shinra, because of what they're doing...

What am I saying? I don't even know what's going on anymore! All I wanted was to get revenge! Now I'm finding out all my worst fears of what he envisioned for the future are coming true, Gaia is dying, and I'm hated for reasons unknown! How am I supposed to explain this to Christie when _I_ don't know anything!?

"Angie..." I heard Christie say behind me. I turned around and seen Christie at the doors of the 7th Heaven. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into now... do you?" I had to admit I really wasn't sure anymore. "Don't you think there's another way to get to them?"

"Christie I don't know. I thought I did but I really don't," I said, trying to keep myself calm.

"Well, here's a suggestion," Christie walked down the stairs of the bar and crossed her arms. "Quit here, get the next train to the Shinra HQ, or somewhere near it, and then use your Goddess power to stop them. You're a Demi-Goddess, this should be easy for you." What... use my Goddess power? How... how...

"How _dare_ you suggest that sort of thing!?" I snarled at her. "Use my Goddess power and make me as bad as the Superiors?" I then paused, noting one important fact. "I... I don't even know what my Goddess power is..." The silence between us was thick. I had one part of myself which I had been neglecting and didn't even know...

"After seven years you still don't know?" Christie stared at me through her Looking Glass. "You know... I think that's a good thing," A good thing? "You know why? Well, what if you found out what your Goddess power was, but it was too much for you and it lead to your downfall? Maybe Oblivion... and everyone else who knew, kept it from you because it would have been too much to handle for you?" Well, probably. "Fine, then our goal is the same as it always was: find Oblivion and get answers."

"But what about Avalanche?" I asked, even though I was feeling terrible for what I did, they were my only chance to get to the Shinra.

"... Fine, we'll do the next mission with them, and then that's it," She rolled her eyes and turned to go back into the bar. I guess tonight was going to be filled with me getting my priorities straight, and eventually finding out what in Gaia's name is really going on...

* * *

A/N: I am _so_ sorry for not updating in ages again. I really am trying to stick with this story but... I've lost everything on the computer. _Everything_. All my documents, story chapters for previous stories, any important facts, documents for future stories, character bios, pictures, you name it, it's all gone from the face of the Earth. I'm just thankful this chapter hadn't been started until after the loss of all things important. Well, at least it's the Summer Holidays.

To Anyone From K Entertainment Who Happens To Be Reading: Since everything has been lost, you won't really see any updates from ENIX Brave for some time. Sorry. I'm still recovering from the shock of the loss of everything. But on the plus side while everything was being permenantly deleted I beat Final Fantasy VIII with all the GFs and one character. Stupid Ultimecia absorbing Squall and Rinoa into time.


	8. Become Another

Become Another

_"He's a beautiful child," She said... I was too busy looking at him. Unnaturally bright blue, maybe a little greenish, eyes similar to my own. "But... is he...?"_

_"He is free from that," She replied sharply to her. "I'm certian of it." He looked up at me, his eyes seemed so innocent. But I could see something behind that innocence. I smiled down at him softly, then looked at the two adults._

_"Can I hold him?" I asked, both of them looked at me, then smiled and nodded. She picked him up and handed him to me gently, it felt weird holding him... but then again I've never held a baby before..._

_"Does he have a name?" She asked the parent... who looked at her with a smile on her face._

_"Yes, he does," She nodded._

_"What is it?"_

_I don't remember his name..._

* * *

I woke up with a sharp pain in my neck, it was probably because of the way I was sleeping. I stood up and walked over to the elavator, heading up to the main area of the bar. It seemed as though everyone was already awake and ready to go. Christie was sitting on a table adjusting her Guantlets, Cloud was completely ignoring my presence, Barret was holding a piece of Restore Materia and Tifa was behind the bar cleaning. I remained quiet, feeling that it wasn't my place to speak right now. It was probably because that dream. It made me feel so unsettled.

"Did you sleep well?" Tifa asked all of a sudden, I shrugged slightly in response to her question.

"It was... alright..." I said. "Are we ready for the next mission?"

"We are, and I'll be coming as well," Tifa nodded, before turning to Marlene and smiling at her. "You take care of the store while we're gone, okay?" The girl nodded happily and headed off into the kitchens.

"So it's just the same as the last mission, then?" Christie asked. "You know, just busting into the Reactor and blowing it up."

"Certianly a change of heart you had overnight," I commented to her. She just ignored the comment and stood up.

"Yeah, but there'll be a few differences in this one," Barret nodded. "I'll explain once we're on the train, so let's move out!"

We made our way onto the train and it soon started moving. Apparently we were to jump off it before the first checkpoint. Christie sat down in an empty seat, waiting patiently for the next move. I felt as though I had to fix a few bridges that I had burned, as well as build a few new ones. I sat dow beside her, really unsure of what to say.

"I'm really sorry," I began. "I really didn't mean to drag you into this mess, but I couldn't... I really couldn't face my past alone."

"Now you decide to do it?" She asked dully. "You've had at least seven years to do it, I understand you've had a little bit of trouble but it _could_ have been easily avioded if you trusted people and told them what was really going on in your head, instead of trying to do everything yourself," I tried to speak, but she interrupted me. "Don't start the 'it wasn't important' crap with me. If it's got you into a self-conflicted battle with a company that influence's most of the world, then it's important. I'm fed up with you being in the background just being silent support. I actually want you to have your own story, and this might be it. I want to know who you are, I want your story to tell me that." She sighed, shaking her head.

"... You won't like it..." I said.

"I think anything would be better than what you are now," I looked at her, amazed and shocked. How could she say that? "Honestly, it's as though you're pretending to be someone you're not. I always had that feeling about you, ever since I met you in Luca. Now when I look back... I don't really think I met _you_ at all. Sometimes... sometimes I don't even know who you are. I know you're definately not Angel, nor are you Angie... who the Hell are you? What exactly did you do to get yourself, and drag me, into this mess!?"

_"Warning! Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed... A search of all cars will be conducted!" _What in the Goddess' name is happening? I didn't expect the security checkpoint to be here.

"What's happening?" Tifa exclaimed, looking about.

"Fuck! Someone must've blown it!" Barret growled. Jessie arrived into the cart just before Barret went into a fit of rage.

"We've got to get to the last car quickly! I'll explain later! C'mon!" She yelled. I stood up and bolted straight for the carrage doors with the others following. As soon as we had gotten to the next carrage, they had began to do a lockdown on the carrage we were in. In a panic, we started running to the next car. It continued like that until we reached the last carrage, where they decided to do a full lockdown on the train. Jessie opened the carrage door, revealing a long wall of metal rushing past. I could only wonder...

"We've gotta jump off the train to get to the Reactor," Tifa explained. "It's kinda scary, huh?"

"It's too later to be saying that now..." Cloud replied. Tifa nodded, standing next to the door.

"Watch me closely, I'm gonna jump," The brunnette then leapt off the train. Christie and I immediantly looked out to see her rolling on the ground, I could see Christie cringing slightly. We went back in and looked at each other.

"Well... we've jumped off Airships before so I guess this is nothing, right?" She said unsurely, then went to the door, paused for a moment then leapt off. I looked at Barret and Cloud for a moment, then nodded to them and leapt off. Unforetunately I had made to big a leap and wound up slamming against the tunnel's wall. I cursed under my breath as I shakily stood up and made my way up to Christie and Tifa.

* * *

"Hey! We heard a bang coming down the tunnel, what happened?" Tifa asked as I arrived, noticing Cloud and Barret close behind me.

"That would have been me miscalculating a jump and slamming against the wall," I explained, pointing to the wall for emphasis. "But it's alright, no one else was hurt. We should go before Shinra starts looking here..." So our group walked down the train rails, with Tifa and Barret leading, as they knew where we were going. We kept going until we came across security lasers. From Barret's swearing I could guess that this was they way we needed to go to get to the Reactor, and sadly it was blocked.

"Maybe there's another way?" Christie suggested before starting to look around the area. Cloud's eyes looked to a wall, and a small hole with bars over it. He went over and pulled the bars off, revealing a ventilation shaft.

"We could go down here," He said, peering inside. "It's small, but we could squeeze through."

"Down there!?" Barret exclaimed, probably unsure if he could get through because of his muscular build. "Damn man, you think we can all get down there?"

"It's the only choice we've got," Tifa pointed out. "But what if it's not safe?"

"How about we let the smallest person go down first?" Christie shrugged. "That would be Angie," We all looked at her with confusion. I was the second tallest person in the group. "Okay, so she's not the smallest height-wise but she's the skinniest. Look, what I meant was because Angie's so skinny she can slide right in the vent with no problem."

"If you wanted me to go you could have just asked," I stated, crouching down and swinging into the vent feet first. I landed in a vent which was considerably larger than the one I just went through. "It's alright, it's safe!" I called up, my voice echoing off the metal walls. I backed away as Christie, Cloud, Tifa then finally Barret dropped down. We made our way down a ladder which brought us to a large area that seemed to be just near the Reactor.

"Hey, you guys made it," Wedge called, but where were Biggs and Jessie? "Biggs and Jessie are up ahead, if you guys go through that vent there, you should arrive just near the Reactor's core." Well, that answered a few questions.

"Again!? Damn what's with all the vents?" Barret mumbled. We made our way over to the vent that Wedge pointed out and clambered inside. We had crawled our way through to a more spacious vent and were able to walk. We actually found Jessie and Biggs just up ahead. Jessie seemed upset about something.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault that the alarm went off on the train," She said, hanging her head. "I put the mission in jeoparody, I'm really sorry."

"We all got here, and the mission's still on, so there's nothing to worry about," Christie said to her.

"You're right..." Jessie nodded, looking a little better now. "We'll meet you all back at the base!" Both she and Biggs jogged off the way we entered. Looks like we're on our own from here.

* * *

"... So no monster guard?" Christie asked as we reached the core. She was right, there didn't seem to be a guard here... it was rather unsettling.

"I don't like it..." I voiced. "Maybe it's a trap?"

"Hey, we got too far to be trapped now!" Barret argued. I rolled my eyes and turned away, waiting for them to set the bomb. "Right, we'll have a lot more time to get outta here before the bomb goes off, but all the Reactors look the same on the inside so we shouldn't get lost." Cloud, once again, hesitated before putting the bomb on the core. What was with him? He did it the last time, as well.

"Cloud, are you alright?" Tifa asked. All he was shake his head and went to put the bomb in its place. I had an uneasy feeling about this mission. Something was going to happen, but I didn't know what...

"Angie c'mon," Christie said, and we all headed for the elevator. I remained quiet as Barret discussed which Reactor we would bomb after this. I kept thinking, was this the right thing? I know it's for Gaia's sake, but we're killing so many people in the process. What if there was another way? Why weren't we looking for another way? We're just using the same method over and over again. It was like the Summoners sacrificing themselves to defeat Sin. A method used for a millenia... a method which never worked.

"Christie..." I said softly, I didn't she heard me. "I think the guilt of what I'm doing is sinking in..." I was indirectly killing people. I've only killed out of self defense... but wasn't self defense for Gaia? In honesty... I wasn't sure...

As we exited the elevator, Tifa, Cloud and Barret went into a side room to unlock the door. I really wasn't sure why the entire Reactor was empty. There were no guards, no security defensesm absolutely nothing. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe Shinra was standing right behind this door waiting to shoot us down when it opened. Christie stood in silence, sometimes glancing to the side room where the others were at.

"This just doesn't make sense," I said. "Why are there no guards? Surely something should be guarding the Reactor." Christie looked at me and replied with only a shrug. There was a beep and the door opened and all of us made our way to the outside. Slowly walking across the walkways all of us looked at the exit hearing several dozen footsteps coming our way. Christie was about to bring out her weapon but I stopped her, looking as the Shinra troops blocked the exits.

"A trap?" Cloud said, pointing out the obvious. From behind us was the sound of someone clapping, and coming closer. We turned and saw a man wearing a red suit, he had blonde hair, a moustache, and seemed quite old. But he oddly familiar...

"Pres... President Shinra!?" Barret exclaimed. The President of Shinra came personally here!? Then we must have been a big problem... or maybe he just wanted to see us perish with his own eyes...

"So you all must be that terrorist group... what was your name again?" He asked mockingly. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he hadn't noticed me.

"It's Avalanche! And don't you forget it!" Barret yelled, angered by the statement.

"Ah yes, them," The President shrugged. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all just before you vermin die in the explosion." So he's going to use our own weapon against us...

"Vermin!? Shinra's the only vermin here! And that makes you King Vermin!" Barret yelled again. Cloud stepped forward and stared blankly at the President.

"Long time no see, President," He knew him? Maybe all Soldiers knew the President then.

"Hm? Oh yes, you're the Soldier who disbanded from us and joned these hooligans," Shinra nodded. "Tell me, what was your name again?"

"Cloud Strife," Cloud replied dully.

"Do forgive me, I can't remember the name of every person who's worked for Shinra... unless you become another Sephiroth," What? Sephiroth? Sephiroth was part of Shinra? "Yes... Sephiroth... he was brilliant... perhaps too brilliant..." I stepped forward, standing beside Cloud.

"You know Sephiorth?" I asked, and with that Shinra looked at me, studying me with shock. "What's happened to him? Where is he?" I could feel several eyes staring as though I was an idiot. I hadn't seen Sephiroth in years... how old was he now?

"You... no... you can't possibly be... him..." What? Him? Who the Hell is 'him'? And last time I checked I looked pretty feminine. "It's impossible... you couldn't be another... how do you know Sephiroth? You're not a Soldier... I would have remembered you... I've never seen you before..." He then chuckled and shook his head. "No matter, you'll all be finished after our lastest toy arrives," He snapped his fingers and out from the only free exit was a huge mechanical beast. "Now, I hope you have fun, now if you'll excuse me I have a dinner meeting to attend to." A helicopter soared up from below and the President got in.

"Wait!" I called, but I could also hear Cloud calling too. I didn't... completely understand why Shinra compared Soldiers to Sephiroth... unless... unless... oh dear Goddess...

"Angie snap out of it!" Christie called before slamming her body into the machine, sending it backwards and let Barret and Tifa get a few hits into it. I took out my staff and rammed it into the mech. It spun around and fired bullets at everyone. Cloud recovered first and charged at it and sliced it open then cast a Bolt spell into it, making it malfunction and shut down.

"It might just be me... but I don't really they were trying..." I wondered. It could have just been a prototype machine... and we were the test run. Or maybe it had something else up its sleeve...

"Er... maybe they put a self destruct mechanism in it?" Christie said, nodding to the machine. The worst was... she was right. The next thing I knew was that I was hanging from the edge of a destroyed bridge with Cloud and Christie also hanging for dear life.

"Cloud!" Tifa called. "You guys are gona be okay! We'll get you up!" If only it were that easy. We were hanging from one end of the hold, while they were on the other. The gap was too big I don't think we could have reached them.

"We'll be okay, just get back to the base and we'll catch up!" Cloud told them. I was hoping he was right. The drop... was really big.

"But..." Tifa looked as though she didn't want to leave out of fear something might happen to us.

"C'mon, you can trust us on this," Christie reassured her. "We'll be back at the base in no time flat, we're gonna be fine." Yeah... we were going to be fine. After everything we've been through... this really should be nothing too hard. This is absoltuely nothing... we're going to be alright...

The bomb dentonated and destroyed the Reactor. The blast was too strong for us to keep a hold of the bridge any longer. Our grips loosened and we fell down to the Slums below...


	9. The Flower Girl

The Flower Girl

How did this happen? Shinra... who did he think I was? He thought I was someone else... and... Sephiroth... was he okay? Was he still with Shinra? Was everyone else at Shinra, too? No... not everyone... Fina's dead. Oblivion... I don't know where he is. Five years... and I have no clue where he is or where he could be...

Oblivion... how can be sure he's still alive? After what happened?

I shouldn't doubt you... you're the God of Death after all...

But I'm still scared... in case... I'm too late to do anything... what if I'm unable to do anything? What if I am still just a helpless child?

_"I can hear him... he's screaming..."_

I remember saying that. I can't bear those memories... what she did... to both of them...

_"But... how could someone to their own child!? What if you did it to me? Or your own child?"_

I was... so angry... but I was only a child... I didn't understand what was going on... all I knew... all I knew was it wasn't anything good.

Why am I remembering this now?

"Hello?"

Hm?

"Hello?"

Who...?

I had opened my eyes to see a bright light block my vision. But someone was standing there... I couldn't really make out who... I sat up and groaned... my head was spinning... I really couldn't think straight.

"Well, that's one up," Huh? I looked to my side and saw both Christie and Cloud unconsious on a bed of flowers. It was odd... have I seen these flowers before? "But could you move? You're crushing the flowers."

"What?" I looked down. She was right. I immediantly got up and moved out of the way. "I-I'm so sorry," The woman laughed slightly at my panic. Wait... I _have_ seen her before. "You're... the flower girl... from Sector 8."

"I'm glad you remembered," She smiled. She looked so familiar. I was certian we had before... it was a time before our meeting in Sector 8... "I'm Aerith, by the way." She held out her hand, which I shook, nodding.

"I'm Angel Lindon... you can call me Angie," I replied. Then I remembered something. "Um... about the flower you sold me... where are they from?"

"Oh, the fake one?" Aerith asked. "Well, as I said someone asked if I could sell them. They had a lot of merchandise about the place, but I liked the flowers best. They said the flowers couldn't grow anywhere else but a faraway village... Banora Village." ... Banora? As in... well, there is only one Banora Village in Gaia. "Have you been there before?"

"... Once," I replied. "It was years ago, though..." I turned to Aerith, she didn't seem intimidated by me. She seemed more fascinated. "Where are we?"

"It's an old chruch in the Sector 5 Slums," Old chruch? Then is this the church I passed when I first entered Midgar? It probably is. "This is where I grow my flowers." I nodded, before hearing two groans as both Cloud and Christie woke up.

"What... what the Hell happened?" Christie muttered, before standing up and looking at us. "Eh... Angie... who's this?"

"Could you both move, please? You're kinda crushing the flowers," She must really care about them. Then again I haven't seen any flowers since I came to Midgar.

"Sorry about that," Cloud said with a half shrug. "I'm Cloud Strife."

"Christie Wilson," Christie smiled. "What's your name?"

"Aerith Gainsborough," Aerith smiled at the two. She seemed like an upbeat person, which was different from any other who I had seen in the Slums. She was quite different. "You all gave me a real fright after you crashed through the roof. But luckily it, along with the flower bed, broke your fall."

"We must owe a lot in damages," Christie rubbed the back of her head nervously, making Aerith laugh.

"No, there was already a big hole in the roof long before you guys fell through," She told us. "And the flowers will grow back, so don't worry." She looked to the doors and her smile faded. "Sorry, this is bad timing on my part..." We all looked at the doors to see two people in uniforms. The male was tall and quite skinny with icy blue eyes and firey red hair. Come to think of it, his hair colour was exactly like Oblivion's, and he also had two marks underneath his eyes. The woman was a little shorter with reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. I had seen those uniforms before...

"Aerith... why are Turks after you?" I whispered to her.

"I'm not sure," She replied. "Hey... have you guys ever been bodyguards before? I want to be taken home. Away from them." Christie and I nodded in reply.

"I do a little bit of everything," Cloud shrugged. I'm guessing that was a yes. "But it'll cost you."

"Hmmm..." Aerith put her hand on her chin for a moment. "How about I go out with you once?" Much to my surprise, he agreed. I turned to the two Turks and advanced towards them, but made sure I didn't look hostile. I knew how dangerous the Turks could be.

"... Can I help you?" I asked, staring at them unblinking. The two of them stepped forward, then three Shinra soldiers came in through the door.

"Hmmm... wasn't countin' on a full house," The red haired man said. The woman looked over at Cloud with a sort of shocked look on her face. "Hm? Somethin' wrong, Cissnei?"

"No, nothing," The woman, Cissnei, replied, shaking her head. "What should we do with these guys?"

"I haven't decided yet," The man shrugged. He came slightly closer to us, but still kept a good distance away. He looked us over and crossed his arms. "Now how come I've never seen your pretty faces around here?" I raised my eyebrow at him. What made him so interested? "Look, all we want to do is have a little talk with the flower girl, is that too much to ask?"

"Umm... kinda," Christie replied, clenching her fists. Cloud was ready to bring out his sword and I let my hand hover over Velvet Nightmare.

"No, don't fight here!" Aerith exclaimed. "You'll ruin the flowers!" We all turned our heads as she turned and went through the back door of the chruch. Cloud and Christie backed away from the Turks slowly. I started to back off as well and then quickly went through the door.

* * *

"How are we gonna get out?" Christie asked. We quickly looked around for an exit, but it was a dead end.

"The roof," Cloud pointed up and then we started an upwards ascent. We had to be careful because the place was falling apart. Cloud had led us to a huge gap that he leapt over before turning to us. "C'mon, they'll catch us if you don't jump." I jumped over and stumbled slightly. Before either Christie or Aerith could join us, the doors elow burst open and the two Turks and three Shinra soldiers arrived.

"The Ancient is getting away! Attack!" The male yelled and the soldiers began firing upwards as Christie and Aerith. Christie was alright but Aerith had lost her footing and she fell into the basement level.

"Aerith!" Christie yelled and immediantly jumped down to attack the Shinra soldiers trying to advance towards Aerith.

"What do we do?" I asked Cloud, who looked up, something I did also, and noted the barrels that seemed to be up there.

"Get Aerith and Christie up here, and make sure the soldiers or the Turks don't get to them," I nodded and took out my staff and slid down a broken pillar to greet the Turks. Christie was fighting with the red haired male, and two Shinra soldiers lay unconsious nearby. So my target was the woman, Cissnei.

"Hello, Shinra dog," I smiled, whipping my staff around, but she blocked with an oversized shuriken weapon. I pulled back and gripped my staff tightly. Cissnei gave a low swipe at my legs which I dodged and slammed my staff in her back. She quickly got up and sweeped her legs under mine. In reaction I backflipped back onto the pillar then pushed myself off it again and our weapons clashed again.

"Please just give us the girl and no one will be hurt," Cissnei tried to reason. I smirked and pulled my weapon away only to jab it in her stomach. My eyes narrowed and I formed a fireball in my hand. Cissnei gasped as I aimed it at her. "Reno! Fall back now!"

"What?" The red head, Reno, turned to Cissnei which gave Christie the oppertunity to kick him in the chest and send him into a wall. He got up and Cissnei cautiously moved to his side. Christie had her blades out and I continued holding the fireball, pointing it at them. Reno glanced at Christie, then at me, a shocked look coming over him. "Holy shit..."

"I knew there was something odd about that one," Cissnei muttered to him, surprising me a little. "Who are you?"

"... Why?" I asked, extinguishing the fireball.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen you somewhere before..." Reno said with a shrug. "You ever worked with Shinra before? Or visited?" I paused at the question. I didn't want to answer it. As I thought on it, I was briskly taken out of my thoughts when I heard him suddenly shout, "Cissnei now!" And the woman quickly rammed her weapon into Christie and knock her off balance, falling down into the basement.

"Christie!" I looked down, seeing Aerith with her and a soldier underneath a broken barrel. I quickly ducked when Reno swung a metallic rod at my head, yet Cissnei managed to knock me down with her weapon.

"Angie! You've gotta run!" Christie yelled. I quickly picked myself up and leapt upwards, onto the pillar and onto the ledge, running up the stairs to catch up with Cloud, Christie and Aerith. We made way across the roofs and climbed outside using the hole in the ceiling.

* * *

"What are the Turks? And why were they after you?" Christie asked as we sat on the roof, waiting for the two Turks to leave the church and the Slums all together.

"They're a small group of people who work for Shinra. They're the President's personal bodyguards," Cloud explained. "But they're also do dirty work for Shinra: Kidnappings, murder and such."

"So what where they doing so far away from their boss?" Christie asked.

"They sometimes look for possible candidates for Soldier," Cloud answered.

"Well, it isn't the first time they've sent Turks after me. But that was the first time when they brought soldiers with them," Aerith pointed out. Well... if she was... but why... I thought...

"You ever think of joining?" Cloud asked Aerith, who stood up and shook her head.

"I certianly don't want to be caught by them, that's for sure," She told him. I looked over the edge of the roof, seeing that the two Turks had gone. "We should get going. They might come back." We took a route which was high above ground, to make sure we weren't ambushed by them. But the Slums weren't a pretty sight. On ground or up above.

We had to leap over rubble and we ended up gaining several scratches on our arms and legs. It was a wonder people were still living here. It was filthy, polluted and absolutly dangerous. That chruch seemed like the only pleasant place to be. And Aerth sold flowers to make the Slums prettier. Even so the Slums couldn't be... changed...

"Hey! Wait up!" We turned behind us to see Aerith lagging behind. Once she caught up she was panting and seemed exhuasted. "You guys are too fast..."

"I thought you could have been a Soldier," Cloud crossed his arms and chuckled. I had never seen him... chuckle before... or show any emotion that vaguely resembled happiness. Aerith just glared at him in mock hurt.

"You're so cruel!" She whined, making Cloud chuckle more. "Come on, let's just go, my home isn't far from here," She went ahead of us and smiled. "Oh, I just want to ask you something. Where any of you ever in Soldier?" Cloud had nodded, but Christie and I shook our heads. "It's just that glow in your eyes..."

"Yeah, that's the mark of Soldier," Cloud nodded. We went down from the rubble and Aerith showed us the way to her house in the Sector 5 Slums. Sector 5 seemed a lot smaller compared to Sector 7. There were less people and buildings, but other than that everything looked the same. However, Aerith's home looked nicer, as if it was just new. There were flowers growing there, too. She smiled and ushered us all inside. There was a small kitchen to the right, along with a dining table and a sitting room just in front of us.

"Mum! I'm home!" Aerith called.


	10. Unexpected Experiences

Unexpected Experiances

"Aerith? You're back, sweetie," Aerith's mother came down the stairs and hugged her daughter. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I had them protecting me," Aerith smiled and turned to us. "This is Cloud, Christie and Angel. Guys, this is my mum, Elmyra." The three of us waved in greeting.

"Protecting you? Oh dear, were you followed again? Are you hurt?" Her mother asked in worry, Aerith just smiled and giggled, though.

"It's okay, they protected me, I'm fine," She smiled. Her mother turned to us and smiled.

"Thank you," We just nodded in reply. Elmyra went into the kitchen and left the four of us alone.

"Uh, shouldn't we be getting back to the bar? I bet Tifa and Barret are gonna be worried," Christie stated, rubbing the back of her head. She then turned to Aerith. "Do you know how to get back to Sector 7 from here?"

"Sure, but it's quite late and we should go tomorrow," Aerith answered.

"'We'?" Cloud asked, slightly confused. "I'm not sure if you should come with us."

"Why not?" Aerith asked him, clearly offended by the statement. "I'm used to this sort of thing. Who wouldn't be after living in the Slums for so long?"

"But... getting help from..." Cloud trailed off at that moment, seeing that he was outnumbered slightly. Both Aerith and Christie glared at him and silently formed an alliance against him.

"A girl?" Aerith finished. "How am I supposed to stand by after you say something like that?" Why wouldn't he want help from a girl? Christie and I had been working with him for a while now, what made Aerith so different? Was it in case the Turks appeared again? "Mum! I'm taking everyone to Sector 7, I'll be back in a while." Elmyra walked out of the kitchen with worry written all over her again.

"Aerith, must you-... nevermind, you're so stubborn once your mind is made up," She sighed. "But if you must go, why not leave tomorrow? It's already getting late."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point, Mum," Aerith nodded in agreement. "I'll go make the beds, then." She walked past her mother and up the stairs. I had noticed that Elmyra was looking at the three of us strangely. I was guessing it was our eyes again. Well, not Christie's. She would never take off the Looking Glass. I wasn't too sure why people had hated me when they say me, it might have been the Soldier asssumption, but I'm sure there was more to it. Even walking through Sector 5 I got glares from everyone.

"I want you all to do me a favour," Elmyra started. "I want you all to leave during the night, while Aerith is asleep."

"Motherly worry?" Christie asked. "Well... if that's what you want..."

"I... don't want the Turks getting to her..." Elmyra explained. "Please, just do as I ask."

"There isn't any other reason?" I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. Elmyra gave me a shocked look and shook her head.

"No, I just don't want Aerith getting hurt, that's all," She answered. I nodded and walked past her and up the stairs. Aerith was standing by the banister and smiled at me.

"You'll have to bunk with me for the night," She explained. "There's only a couch and a bed in the guest room. Cloud and Christie can fight over who's sleeping where."

"Thank you, but... why pick me?" I asked with curiosity.

"I've seen they way Cloud looks at you..." Aerith replied. "Out of the two of you, he likes Christie better." I nodded and saw Christie and Cloud come up. "We should be going to bed then. Sector 6 is quite dangerous so we better get some rest," She made her way to her own room and smiled at us. "Good night."

* * *

_Christie's POV_

_Even with a tomorrow without promises, I will return to the place where you stand..._

Words Angie said seven years ago, and those words are engraved on the pendant that held the Silver Sphere around my neck. The words have stuck with me for so long. She said it was from Loveless, her favourite play. I saw a few posters about Loveless in Sector 8. So did... Angie grow up here? On Gaia? Is this the home planet she hardly spoke of? Maybe now I can actually find out who she really is. Just after I stop being furious at her for not explaining anything to me.

And this Cloud guy. He's a little... odd. I don't understand why he hates Angie. He keeps giving her glares and doesn't talk to her. He seems fine with me, though. Although we don't speak at least he doesn't hate my guts.

I couldn't sleep that night, I couldn't get all my thoughts to shut up and let me rest. There was too much going on to just be put aside. And those... Turks. They wanted Aerith, but something was telling me it wasn't for Soldier.

Hearing a noise I lifted up my head to see Cloud heading for the door. Was he planning on leaving without us?

"Going to the bathroom?" I asked. He spun around and gaped at me. "Or planning on leaving without us?"

"... Fine, you win," He grumbled. I stood up and crossed my arms. "I thought that you and... her would be better off here."

"Hey, I'm part of Avalanche, too. And so's Angie," I stated, but quietly so we wouldn't wake everyone else up. "But... yeah I'm guessing it's too risky to have Angie woken up. I guess maybe we should leave her for now." And she would know how it feels to be left behind. "We should go." Cloud quietly snuck out of the room and we tiptoed past Aerith's room and down the stairs. The house was dark besides a few lamps turned on here and there. We left the house and walked down to Sector 5.

"We should be alright by ourselves," Cloud said as we walked through the Slums. "Sector 6 can't be that dangerous, and after that we can reach Sector 7."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," I nodded. The Slums were really quiet, which made me uneasy. But even when people were outside in the Slums it made me uneasy. This place just gave me the creeps.

"Uggh..." I gasped and jumped in fright. Cloud looked about, but ignored it and kept walking.

"What was that, Cloud?" I asked, looking around frantically.

"It was nothing, let's go," He replied.

"He... slumbers..." Okay, _now_ I'm scared. Cloud turned around and looked at me.

"Where is that coming from?" He asked. I shrugged and kept looking about.

"You tell me," I replied. I heard another noise and screeched when a door opened. But Cloud then clasped a hand over my mouth and glared at me. A woman came out of her house and stared at us for a moment.

"What're you young 'uns doing out so late?" She asked. She was quite an old woman, and looked at us with curiosity.

"Passing through," Cloud replied, taking his hand away from my mouth. "But loudmouth kept hearing noises and freaked out, we didn't want to wake anybody. Sorry."

"Oh, it wasn't you," The woman told us with a smile. "This sort of thing has been happening for a year now, it's quite common." Cloud and I looked at each other and I rubbed the back of my head.

"Ehh... what exactly is happening?"

"Several people all over the Slums are infected with an unknown disease," She explained. "They keep mumbling and muttering, they do say some things, but rarely, and they're all terrified by an old saying from the Slums." An old saying?

"What's the saying?" I asked.

"... 'G' slumbers below Midgar," She started. "Silently abiding his awakening," That saying was... strange. What the Hell did it mean though. "Today people were quite worried, I always thought it was a rumour, but when I saw that girl..."

"What girl?" Cloud asked, eyebrow raised.

"The red haired one with you two," She replied. "She... frightened everyone in the Slums. We didn't think any of it was true..."

"I knew she was trouble," Cloud muttered. "Sorry to bother you, but we've gotta go." She nodded and went off to a different house. I looked at Cloud who had started to move on.

"Hey! Wait right there!" I yelled. Angie may have pissed me off but what did he mean by trouble. "What did you mean by that?"

"Your friend's a problem, that's what I meant," He responded.

"What!?" I growled. "Angie is _not_ a problem! Sure she's a bit cold but you hardly know her! You can't just hate her for no reason!"

"Well you can tell Soldier girl that and see what she thinks," Cloud shoved right past me and I followed him.

"She wasn't a Soldier! I thought she told everyone that!" I glared at him.

"I know that! I was a First Class Soldier! I would have known her if she was a Soldier!" He yelled at me. "But explain why she's got Mako eyes and how President Shinra reconised her!" I froze and didn't know what to say. "Hmph, I knew you wouldn't know. She doesn't tell you anything, does she?" He didn't let me answer and walked past me. I knew I'd be lost if I didn't follow him, and I didn't want to go back to Aerith and Angie. I walked slowly behind him and through the Slums until we reached a hole in a giant wall, and we halted in utter shock.

"You two are up bright and early," Aerith remarked with her hands on her hips. Angie just had her arms crossed over her chest and stared at us blankly. "I really can't believe you'd leave your friend behind."

"Well... uhh..." I stumbled on my words and rubbed the back of my head.

"Can we just go now?" Angie turned around and the two went through to Sector 6. Cloud rolled his eyes and both of us followed.

* * *

After about half an hour we had made it to a small park like area in front of large gates, which I guessed led to Sector 7. But the park was kinda cute. A couple of swings and a slide were there, along with a few other things. Angie had started to walk away from us and head towards the swings. Cloud and Aerith looked at each other for a moment and I crossed my arms.

"Well, Sector 7 isn't far from here," Aerith told him. "That's the gate over there."

"Thanks," Cloud nodded. "Will you be alright going home?" Aerith tilted her head to the side and sighed.

"How about we take her to Sector 7 with us?" I blurted out. I was a bit surprised that I said that. I quickly made an excuse to add on. "Well, we're her bodyguards! We said we'd protect her. What if the Turks come again and try to kidnap her?" I hoped that was a good enough excuse. Well Aerith seemed to agree with it.

"But won't I get in the way?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Cloud looked at her strangely.

"Oh! Nothing!" Aerith giggled. "Hey... can we rest for a while?" She ran off to the slide with Cloud following her. I just walked over to the swings where Angie was sitting on one and slowly swinging back and forth on it.

"You know, when I was younger I really liked the swings," I started aimlessly. "I would always try to swing all the way around. I almost did it but I freaked out and jumped off. Banged my head on the ground, can't remember much after that," I sat on the swing beside her and looked at her. All Angie did was stare at the ground. "Um... sorry for leaving you behind like that-"

"I deserved it," She interrupted, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I've left you behind so many times before... I guess I should have seen it coming," She sighed and continued to slowly swing back and forth. "But I... I got scared..."

"You didn't have to be scared," I told her. "Look, I wouldn't leave you behind..." Wait, I was supposed to be pissed off with her. Why wasn't I? "I promise I won't leave you behind." I didn't expect her to return the promise. How could she? She's a vililante. And Hell knows where Oblivion is. I guess I brought it upon myself to look after her.

"I need... to get to Shinra..." She mumbled. "I need to settle my past... and going to Shinra will start that... and I'll explain everything along the way..." We both looked up as we heard the gates opening a cart with a Chocobo made its way by. They have Chocobos in Gaia, too? As it went past we saw a woman in a skimpy blue dress sitting at the back of it. Wait! Wasn't that!?

"Cloud! Aerith!" I called, making the two look down at me. "Tifa's in the back of that carriage!" They turned around and watched as it went into another part of Sector 6.

"That was Tifa? She looked a little... odd," Aerith said slowly. "We should see what she's up to!" Aerith jumped off the slide and ran off to follow the carriage. Cloud jumped off and rushed to follow her. I jumped off the swings and ran after the duo.

"Hold on," Angie said, getting off the swing. "Someone needs to tell Barret that we're okay," She had a point. I nodded in agreement. "You look after Aerith and Cloud, I'll go back to Sector 7 and find out what's going on."

"Okay, and I'll get Tifa and ask her," I said and ran off to find Aerith and Cloud while Angie ran through the gates to Sector 7. Aerith and Cloud were standing at the entrance to the town, which I got a really bad vibe from.

"Where's Angel?" Aerith asked. I looked behind her and at the town as a shiver went up my spine.

"She went back to Sector 7 to see Barret about what's going on with Tifa," I answered. "So... Tifa's in there?"

"Yeah, this is the Wall Market," Aerith told me. "This place is dangerous in a lot of ways, especially for a girl. We'd better find Tifa fast." I gulped at what she said.

"What do you mean... especially for a girl?"


	11. Faced With A Problem

Faced With A Problem

Okay, the Wall Market is... a whore's town. I have no other way to describe it. We've been searching for five minutes and all I've been hearing is moans and groans that will probably haunt me for the rest of my days. And guys have been eyeing up me and Aerith, so we've been staying close to Cloud, but not too close incase some men got... 'ideas'. There was no chance that we were splitting up. Even in a group I was a bit worried.

"Maybe we should go to the Honeybee Inn," Aerith suggested. "A lot of people hang around there, maybe they know something," Cloud and I looked at her for a moment. "Trust me on this, okay?" We nodded unsurely and followed her to the 'inn'. In front of it were lots of guys who were trying to get inside.

"Inn?" I asked. "Aerith. It's a brothel." Well, it certianly looked like one! I really hated this place already... Cloud walked towards the entrance and spoke with one of they guys at the doors. While we had to wait for him to finish, I kept my eye on any guy who tried to come near us. To our misfortune one guy did happen to approach us.

"Hey there hotstuff," He purred, eyeing me up as I looked at him totally disgusted. "What's a pretty little lady like yourself doin' here?" He lifted his hand to try and grab me, but I backed away and put an arm in front of Aerith protectively. "Oh, come on now don't be like that." He came closer to us and I quickly brought out my blades and pointed them at his neck.

"Come near us again and castrate you," I growled. Thankfully he backed away from us, but I kept my weapons out just in case. Aerith just giggled at me.

"You must be a hit with the guys," I smiled and shrugged at the comment.

"I do try," Cloud returned to us and stared at me oddly.

"... We should go before you cause a riot," He said and we quickly left the Honeybee Inn. "They said that Tifa was at the Don's mansion, it's at the far end of the Wall Market." I smiled and we started to head up to the Don's mansion.

* * *

Some things just have to be awkwardly difficult...

"Is this the Don's mansion?" Cloud asked coldly to the guard at the doors of the massive home.

"Aye, this is Don Corneo's mansion," The guy replied just as icily. "Listen, he's not interested in men so clear off!" He then looked at us then smiled. "Hey, you got two cute ones with you!" Cloud clenched his fists and me and Aerith quickly giggled and grabbed his arms.

"Excuse us one moment," Aerith smiled and we pulled him away out of earshot of the guard. "Okay, me and Christie will go in and get Tifa, so you just wait here-"

"Aerith, I'm not letting you and Christie go in there," Cloud said sternly, crossing his arms for the full effect. "You _do_ know... what kind of place this is... don't you?"

"As much as I agree with Cloud on this one," I started, rubbing the back of my head. "We can't go in there by ourselves. Sure both of us could handle it... but I'd feel more comfortable if Cloud went in with us," Aerith began to giggle suddenly and my face turned bright red. "What!? What's so funny!?"

"What if Cloud dressed like a girl?" Cloud's face paled and my eyes went wide. How did she come up with _that_ idea!?

"... You're kidding... right?" Cloud asked slowly, fearing if she meant it. I put my hands in my pockets and felt something inside one of them. I looked down and pulled out a small card like item.

"You want to make sure Tifa's alright, don't you?" Aerith asked him. I looked up at the two and smiled at my own plan.

"I agree with Aerith," Cloud looked at me in horror. I held up my Garment Grid and smirked. "C'mon, follow me." We went further away from the mansion and into an empty allyway. I handed Cloud the Grid as they looked at me in confusion.

"What... exactly are you doing?" He asked. I pointed at one of the Dresspheres and smiled.

"Choose that one," I smirked, trying to hold in my laugh. Cloud unsurely did as I asked, and the Garment Grid activated for him. To my pleasure, my idea had worked the way I wanted it to...

"Christie! What did you do!?" Aerith exclaimed in shock. Cloud looked at his hands and then at me in horror.

"Christie... what? Wait... why do I sound like you?" He asked.

"Well, my Garment Grid turned you into my double," I smiled. I took the idea from what Leblanc had done to Yuna five years ago. My Garment Grid kinda worked in the same way as Yuna's, and Cloud was now my replica in my Songstress outfit, which was a red sequened halter top, black skintight trousers and black thigh high boots with white ribbons. "Until we save Tifa, you're my twin... umm... Aerith any names you can think of?"

"Hmm..." Aerith went into thought for a few moments while Cloud tried to get over the fact he was my 'twin'. "Abigail?" I looked at Cloud, then gave a nod of approval.

"Aye, I guess it suits 'her'," I smirked. "Right, you hold on tae that, me and Aerith better go get ourselves ready." The three of us walked down to the main part of the Wall Market. I didn't really think I'd have to change my outfit, I mean I was wearing a corset like top and hot pants for crying out loud. Aerith needed a dress to disguise herself in, so she had went to the dress store to look for one while me and Cloud went to look for some accessories to wear.

"Christie, how did you walk around wearing this?" He asked me. I just shrugged and continued looking through the shelves.

"I've worn worse," I told him, finding a nice little necklace with a small apple pendant on it. It had white gems on it and a green gem leaf. It was quite cute. "Hang on, I'm gonna buy this, you found anything Abigail?" He scowled at the name and shook his head. "Alright, only asking." I went to buy the necklace and put it around my neck. For some reason I started to think about what that woman had said... G? ... Slumbering below Midgar? What did that mean? And what was his link to Angie? ... Did I really know anything about her?

"Hey guys," When we left the shop Aerith greeted us wearing a rather revealing red dress. Well, anything to save Tifa, I guess. I still had a bad feeling about it, though. "So... I think we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's go save Tifa."

"Hey there, again," I smiled to the guard at the Don's mansion. "Can we go in to see the Don?"

"Well, usually he only takes three girls..." The guard said.

"Please? We really, _really_ want to go in!" Aerith pleaded, sounding awfully convincing.

"Well... I guess the more the merrier, especially with you twins," He winked at me and Cloud suggestively at that comment. I giggled coyly and Cloud just hung his head. "Go right on in!" He opened the doors and ushered us inside, where we were met with a receptionist.

"Hey, more girls! Must be our lucky night," He smirked as he eyed the three of us up. "I'll go tell the Don, so wait right here and don't wander off." Once he had left the room, the three of us looked at each other.

"Too easy," I smirked. "C'mon, Tifa's gotta be around here somewhere." We decided to go up the stairs and look around, but most of the doors where locked apart from a wide open one that had a large, descending staircase. Since we couldn't find any other open doors we thought to look down there. Once we entered the room I realised it... well it had a weird dominatrix theme going on. And I do not want to think about what that table's for...

"Christie!?" Tifa exclaimed, gasping when she saw two of us and Aerith. "What's going on?"

"You must be Tifa, I'm Aerith," Aerith said, sort of explaining the situation partly. "Cloud's told me about you."

"He has?" Tifa went red at the comment. "He's just a friend, that's all."

"Ditto," Why were they saying that?

"Guys, he's right there," I said, pointing to him. Tifa did a double take and turned wide eyed.

"But how?"

"Garment Grid, we needed to get him in here somehow," I answered. "But enough of that, what is going on?"

"Well..." Tifa sighed and began her story. "After we got back to the bar, there was this guy who had been hanging around the place for some time now. Barret thought something shady was going on, so after a little... interrogation he revealed that he was a spy for Shinra and worked for Don Corneo. Barret told me to keep away from this place, but I had to find out what Shinra was up to..." She then looked at us and realised something. "Wait, what happened to Angel?"

"Went back to the bar," Cloud answered coldly. I elbowed him in the side for it.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked Tifa, we all looked at her for an answer.

"Well, every night the Don takes a couple of girls and picks one of them to... well..." Oh come on, we're all adults here. So he picks girls to have sex with every night, was that so hard to say? "I need to get picked so I can find out what's going on."

"Well, you've got us so there's no problem, right?" I smiled. "If you don't get picked then we'll get the information. But since I'm assuming all these guys are total perverts they'll definately choose you because you have the biggest knockers." Tifa sort of looked at me oddly for that.

"... Thanks," She deadpanned, then looked at Aerith. "Listen, I'm sorry for Cloud and Christie dragging you into this, you don't have to."

"No, it's alright," She reassured her. "I'm used to danger, you don't have to worry about me."

"Hey ladies!" The receptionist called on us from the top of the stairs. "The Don's ready for you! And he hates to wait!" He then left and the four of us left the room. I leaned over to Cloud and pointed at my Grid.

"Press that bit to deactivate it," I said, since I knew he didn't know how to reverse it. We went inside the Don's room, where there were two bodyguards and a fat, bald man behind a desk. I'm guessing that he was the Don.

"Hmm, all of these ladies look splendid!" The Don cheered. I had to hold back any sign of disgust on my face. He came over to us and inspected us all. "Who should I pick?" He continued inspecting us for a little while longer. "Alright! I've made my descision! The lucky girl tonight is..." I had a bad feeling about this... "This beauty right here!" Yeah, it was me. I giggled and looked at Tifa, Cloud and Aerith. "Boys, the others are all yours!" He turned around and I followed him to the large bedroom in the back. He sat on he bed and I stood at the end of it.

"It's... very nice..." I commented dryly.

"Thank you, sexy," He purred. "Now, why don't you come to daddy?" I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "... What's the matter kitten?" I'm hating these pet names...

"There's a little problem..." I tried to make myself soud unsure and nervous, but kept an eye on him at all times.

"What? ... You don't... like me?" He sounded hurt, but I didn't really give a damn. I knew these kind of ploys when I saw them.

"Well... you see..." I started before he interrupted.

"There's someone else? Isn't there?" Well, might as well pretend.

"Yes, his name is Cloud," I said, surprising him. I can't wait to see look on Cloud's face when I tell him this.

"Cloud... I've heard of him before..." Don muttered. Okay this was going along smoothly.

"He's a member of Avalanche, you know? That group you sent you men to spy on?" I went closer to him and triggered my weapon. "Now tell me what Shinra's up to!"

"You're part of Avalanche!?" He gaped. I nodded seriously and kept pointing my weapon at him. The door suddenly burst open and Aerith, Tifa and Cloud, all in their regular attire, entered. "What's going on here?"

"Shut up! We're asking the questions!" I snapped. Tifa then stepped closer to the bed and narrowed her eyes.

"What did you assisstants find out?" She asked. "Tell us now! If you don't..." Cloud then moved closer and stood beside Tifa.

"... I'll chop them off," He said in total seriousness. Corneo's face paled and he panicked.

"I-I made them find out where the man with the gun-arm was! I was ordered to!" He blurted out.

"Who ordered you?" I asked with a growl.

"And if you don't tell us..." Aerith stood beside Cloud and Tifa. "... I'll rip them off." Corneo's panicking increased as we stopped blinking.

"It-it was Heidegger of Shinra! The Head of Public Safety Maintenance!" He squealed. Shinra? Shinra are behind this?

"Heideggar?" Cloud raised his eyebrow.

"Shinra!? What are they up to!?" Tifa yelled. "Talk! And if you don't..." She leaned forward and glared. "... I'll smash them."

"You're really serious aren't you?" He gulped. "I'm not fooling around either. Shinra's been trying to crush a small rebel group called Avalanche. They want to infiltrate their hideout. They're going to crush Avalanche...literally. By breaking the support above Sector 7!" Tifa gasped in shock and pulled away.

"What!? They're going to wipe out Sector 7!?" Tifa cried. "Guys we've gotta go back to Sector 7!"

"Read my mind, there," I nodded. "Let's go." We started to leave the room, but Corneo suddenly stopped us.

"Wait!"

"Will you shut up!?" I yelled.

"This'll only take a second," He said. "Now, how do you think scum like me feels when they tell the truth?" ... What?

"They're sure they'll win?" Cloud asked, not really caring.

"Woo-hoo! Right!" Corneo then pulled a lever and the floor gave way underneath us. Once we collided with the groud I went unconsious.


	12. Save Sector 7

Save Sector 7

"Christie? Are you alright?" I opened my eyes and coughed, wiping water off my face. I stood up and looked at everyone.

"Yeah, what about you guys?" I asked.

"We're fine, at least the worst is over," Aerith responded. How can the worst be over? Sector 7 could be crushed and gone by now! Well, I was distracted when I heard a sudden, growling noise. "Uhh... maybe not..." Something suddenly burst through and growled at us. We brought out our weapons and dodged a swipe it took at us. Tifa cast a Fire spell at it before running in for a punch, while Aerith stood back and cast a healing spell over us. Cloud jumped up and sliced downwards at the monster, making it roar and call up a huge wave to crash down on us, also damaging itself slightly.

I ran up to it and performed a double slice on it, roundhouse kicking it and jumping back. I saw a metal pole at the side, so using Magnetism I picked it up and tossed it into the monster's eye. It reeled back and screeched loudly, leaping up ready to crush us. We all immediantly spread out and it missed us. Cloud lifted his sword and delivered the final blow to it. The monster gave one last roar and fell to the ground, not moving at all.

"This is terrible! Sector 7 is gone!" Tifa cried out in dismay. "Marlene... Barret..."

"No! Don't give up hope!" Aerith told her. "It's not easy to take down the pillar, right?" That seemed to lift Tifa's spirits. She then smiled in hope.

"You're right! We still have time!" She said. "We've gotta hurry, c'mon!" We waded through the water and climbed up to the dry ground up the stairs. We walked along for a while in silence, and I noted the tunnels were getting darker. This is where Angie's Pyrokinesis would come in handy.

"Christie," Cloud began rather suddenly. "How were you able... to control metal like that? What kind of Materia do you have?" Materia? The little orb thingys I heard Barret ask about?

"Well, it's not Materia," I replied. "I was sort of gifted with it, I'm able to manipulate anything that is metal, kind of like... I dunno a sub-form of Telekinesis? It's called Magnetism," Cloud grunted in response. "But that's not all I can do. I control Aura, too-"

"Aura?" Tifa interrupted quickly. "You... can control Aura?"

"Yeah... I was kinda born with these skills... why?" I asked unsurely. I wasn't sure what Aura meant in this world.

"I... I've heard about Aura in the Slums and in books when I was younger," Tifa explained. "They were an old race called 'Aureola' and they were able to control their spiritual energy," Aureola? So that's the official name, then? "But they also use their Aura and other people's Aura to fight and to survive, but then they just... disappeared. But it was race from long ago... I thought they were extinct."

"Disappeared?" I asked. How could a whole race just suddenly... the Superiors? Did they kill off the Aureola? I'd better not jump to conclusions, but that's the most likely answer. "Well, I'm still getting used to it... but I can do a few things with it." I concentrated and my hand gave off a faint glow.

"Oh my!" Aerith gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Hmph..." Cloud didn't seem too impressed. I just outstretched my hand and started walking forward. I had started to notice something about my 'vision'. I had never really looked before, but I was beginning to notice the Aura's of the others. They were all a sort of blue-ish white colour. It was quite odd, I really didn't know what to make of it. I hadn't really concentrated on the Aura before. Maybe I should, it could help one of these days.

We kept going until we saw a ladder going upwards. We climbed up it and pushed off the lid and went up to the surface. I got out of the hole and flicked my hand to stop it glowing. I surveyed the area, a lot of broken down trains surrounded us as far as the eye could see. Where had I seen this before?

"Tifa, where are we?" I asked as everyone got out of the hole. Tifa looked about for a moment.

"The Train Graveyard... Sector 7," Tifa replied.

"Aerith... I got you mixed up in all of this..." Cloud said to her, all Aerith did was shake her head.

"Don't tell me to go home," Why didn't she want to go home? Did she think she was in too deep now to go back? Or was there another reason.

"If we get past all the trains, we should make it to the pillar," Tifa pointed out. "But what if we... don't make it?" I looked at the trains and sighed.

"I'll make quick work of this," I told them. "Stand back." Concentrating, I focused on making a clear path to the Train Station. I sent a blast out that crushed and blew holes in the trains in our path. Rolling my shoulders back I slid my weapons out again, having the feeling we'd have to fight.

"Umm... nice work?" Tifa said, unsure of what to make of it.

"Trust me, you'll see more of this when you hang around with me," I smirked. "Now let's save the Sector, already."

* * *

This clearly wasn't good. All of the people from Sector 7 were surrounding the pillar as gunfire was heard from above, at the top of the pillar. I had never realised that it was so massive. And if we don't get there in time... we're dead.

"Barret and the others must be up there!" Tifa exclaimed, looking up at the fight above. I couldn't really see, my vision wasn't really the best in long distance. But I could faintly see the Aura's of the people above, as well as fire blasts. It was Angie. Fire was her signature Element. Both of them needed help. I looked to Cloud, Tifa and Aerith, but soon my head snapped back up when there was a collective gasp as someone fell from the tower.

"Wedge!" Cloud suddenly yelled as we ran to the man. "You alright?"

"Cloud... you remembered... my name..." Wedge's Aura was fading... he was dying. Who could survive a fall like that? "Barret and... Angel are... up top... you've gotta... help them..." He was dying slowly, but it felt weird hearing people call Angie 'Angel'. I was so used to calling her Angie now. "And Cloud... sorry I wasn't... any help..." Wedge's Aura then completely faded. It sank into the ground and then disappear. I looked at the gate and then to everyone behind us.

"Everyone get out of Sector 7 now! The pillar is going to collapse! It's not safe so move!" I yelled out the order so everyone would move. Looking back at the others I started going towards the gates. "I'm going up, are you coming?"

"Aerith," Tifa turned to her quickly. "My bar's not far from here, it's called 'Seventh Heaven' and there's a girl called Marlene there..." Aerith nodded in understanding.

"I'll get her somewhere safe, don't worry," Aerith then ran off and I looked to Cloud and Tifa.

"Ready?" The three of us quickly dashed up the stairs. They spiraled up to the tower above and I rushed up them. I wasn't going to let them destroy the Sector. I just wasn't going to let it happen. It took a long time but we managed to make it to the top, where Angie and Barret were taking out the last of the Shinra soldiers.

"Yo, guys!" Barret called, Angie turned around and tossed a glowing green orb to me.

"Keep a hold of that," She told me. "You'll need it more than I will." We all looked up when we heard a helicopter approach the tower, Barret lifted his gun arm and tried to shoot at it, but missed as a person jumped out and landed, running to the control panel.

"You!" I growled. It was Turk, or whatever, from the church. The red haired guy. I couldn't remember his name.

"Heh, looks like you're too late," He smirked, his finger hovering dangerously over a button. "Once I press this button..." I ran towards him, but he reacted by quickly pressing the button and hitting me back with that metal rod weapon of his. I fell onto my back and jumped back up again. "Sorry, but no one gets in the way of the Turks." Angie lept onto his back and knocked him down, but he threw her off and cast some sort of spell on her that locked her inside a transparent pyramid. I glared at the Turk and ran over to Angie, kicking the pyramid and shattering it.

Cloud rushed to the Turk and slammed his sword into him as Tifa backflipped and kicked him. Barret raised his gun and shot at him, but some bullets barely missed Tifa and Cloud. I jumped in and threw a flurry of punches and kicks at him, which he started to block and counter with his own. He thre an overhead punch that I ducked under and kicked down on his shin, making him trip and fall to his knees.

"Heh... you guys are good," He smirked, getting up and ducking underneath an attack from Cloud. He rolled out of the way and grinned at us. "Too bad you're on the wrong side." I growled and me and Angie ran towards him and attacked again. Barret, Cloud and Tifa came around behind and trapped him. Angie kept him busy with attacks he'd block as I would find any opening to throw a punch in. On one punch my blades suddenly drew outwards and impaled his side, and he threw an arm into me and sent me backwards, my head colliding with the railings.

All I saw was the Silver Sphere suddenly glowing brightly before I blacked out...

* * *

_Angie's POV_

"Christie!" I called out, then gaping as the Silver Sphere began to glow brightly. We had all stopped fighting as we were distracted by the sudden light. What was going on? I was so confused I didn't notice Reno smirk.

"_That's _interesting," He then sprinted towards Christie, I reacted by following him and trying to protect Christie, but he suddenly kicked my stomach and sent me reeling back. "Guys! Do something!" I begged, Barret lifted his gun and Tifa raised her fists, but all Cloud did was glare at me. Why did he keep glaring at me? I got up and raised my staff. "Leave Christie alone!" Reno looked at me, scanning me up and down. There was a huge, thick silence amongst us all. I didn't understand why I couldn't move, all I felt was tears welling up in my eyes. "Please don't hurt her!" I cried, begging to him.

"... Is she an Ancient?" ... What...? An... Ancient? No... She isn't...

He took our shock as an oppertunity to run. He picked up Christie and ran, jumping right off the tower. I fell to my knees in horror... I... failed to save her...

"We have to stop the bomb!" Tifa yelled, and I heard footsteps run towards the panel. I couldn't help them... I couldn't...

"... I can't disable it... this isn't an ordinary bomb..." Cloud muttered. I heard the helicopter again and looked up, seeing a man with black hair and had a Wutai look to him, wearing a Turk uniform. I stood up and walked towards the helicopter. I tried to find Christie, thinking that Reno had her inside the helicopter.

"What are you doing!?" I screamed. I was truly shocking myself. I hadn't ever screamed or raised my voice in years... I always kept my calm. "Where's Christie!?"

"Christie... so that's her name?" He looked behind him, and Reno came into view, and Christie was there, unconsious. "Interesting... but no matter. You won't be able to save the Sector, that bomb can only be disabled by a Shinra Executive."

"Shut yer hole!" Barret raged, aiming his gun at the helicopter. I quickly turned and put his arm down.

"Don't! You'll hurt Christie!" I cried.

"And don't forget your other friend, as well," I spun around and gasped, seeing Aerith with them as well!

"What are you going to do with Aerith!?" Cloud asked in anger.

"Hmm, I haven't decided," The man said. "Our orders were to find and capture the last remaining Ancient. But I see now there may be a possibility of two Ancients..." He then looked at me, or rather, my eyes. "Perhaps three... have we met before?"

"Yo, boss, we should get outta here," Reno muttered. Aerith quickly pushed her way forward and looked at Tifa.

"Don't worry! She's alright!" She called before the man pushed her back and shut the helicopter door before flying away as debris began to fall down.

"We need to find a way out!" I said. I couldn't think properly because I was so mad about losing Christie. I noticed Barret run over to a wire and call us over.

"Hey! Maybe this'll get us out!" He suggested. Tifa jumped up and held onto Barret, and Cloud gripped onto the wire. I ran and grabbed the wire and once Barret took a hold we all swung down to escape the destruction of Sector 7. I tried to stop myself from thinking about how much damage there would be... how many lives would be lost...

We let go of the wire and tumbled into safety. I rolled into a metal pole and bashed my head on it. I pulled myself up and watched with hazy vision as Sector 7 turned into ruins. I couldn't believe it... I had lost Christie to Shinra...

"Christie!" I called out and fell to my knees. I knew she didn't hear me... but I kept feeling anger build up inside me, ready to burst. I just wanted... to see Shinra burn...

Shinra is going to pay...

I'm going to Shirna... and no Superior, past memory or Avalanche member is going to stop me...

* * *

A/N: This ends the Prologue Arc of the story. I've decided to put it in Arcs just to make planning out the story a little easier. The next Arc is the Shinra Arc, so keep reading to find out what surprises are in store. And leave a Review, please and thank you.


	13. The Remaining Few

The Remaining Few

I fell to my knees breathing in and out heavily, my hands clenching and small flames licking through my fingers. I felt my eyes burn as my anger grew greater for my mistake. I was going to atone. I was going to Shinra myself and I was going to get Christie and Aerith back.

"... Angel?" I heard Tifa's voice, but I didn't look. I stood up and looked at the ruins of Sector 7.

"I'm going to get Christie and Aerith back," I told her, with a tone that let her know I wasn't going to change my mind. "... And I'm going to watch Shinra burn." I turned around to see Barret and Cloud awake, staring at me.

"You can't go alone, Angel," Tifa reasoned. "We all want to get back at Shinra. We all want Christie and Aerith back. We can't just let you go alone." She had a point, I couldn't simply barge into Shinra and expect to come out unharmed with Christie and Aerith. We needed a plan. But... the more I think on the more I feel as if events I don't want to happen are starting to unravel...

"... We need to tell Aerith's mother..." I said quietly. "... I need to ask her something..."

"Yo! What about Marlene!?" Barret bellowed. I looked at Tifa, then at the ground. I couldn't look at Cloud right now... I could sense his hate for me...

"Aerith said that 'she's safe'," Tifa told him softly. "I think she meant Marlene... maybe she's with Aerith's mum?" I think she was. I heard footsteps and we all watched as Cloud started to walk away. "Cloud? Where are you going?" We all started to follow him to the road that led to the hole leading to Sector 5. As we caught up with him, he collapsed on the ground and clutched his head. I knelt down beside him and looked at him.

"... Cloud?" I asked slowly. It was after a few moments that he looked at me, straight into my eyes. I stared right back at him.

"Sephiroth?"

My blood ran cold at the name. I immediantly jumped to my feet and back away from him, my mouth agape and my eyes staring in terror. The name startled me. I... I know I've heard the President talk about him, but something seemed off now... and the tone he said it in... I got scared.

Tifa helped Cloud up and he shook his head, then he stared at me. I was still in a state of shock. I continued to stare at Cloud, his eyes not filled with hate this time. The only thing I could focus on was the name repeating itself in my head. Over and over and over.

"Hey, what's with you two?" Barret asked, making Cloud break the stare.

"Nothing, we should keep going," Cloud told him, walking past me as I stood frozen in place. "Are you coming?" I took a deep breath in and turned around, following them through the Sector.

* * *

Once we had reached Aerith's home, Cloud knocked on the door slowly, waiting for a response. After a few moments, Elmyra opened the door and stared at us, before nodding and moving out of the way to allow us in.

"... It's about Aerith, isn't it?" She asked slowly, before noticing something else. "Where is the other one? Christie, was it?"

"Shinra have them both... I'm sorry," Cloud said softly to her, Elmyra shook her head and sighed.

"I know. They took her from here," We all stared surprised at her. Aerith was here?

"Shinra was here?" Cloud asked, getting a nod in response.

"It's what she wanted," I went closer to Elmyra, staring directly in her eyes. There were nothing like Aerith's, but Elmyra noticed something familiar in mine.

"Why does Shinra want Aerith?" I asked her. There was a long silence before she sighed again and told us.

"Aerith is an Ancient. The sole survivor," The information was met with a long silence. An Ancient? As in... Cetra? Why would Shinra be looking-

...

"The only one?" Barret asked. "But ain't you her mother?"

"No, I'm not her real mother," Elmyra smiled. "Oh, it must have been fifteen years ago... during the war," A war? but there weren't any wars fifteen years ago. I would've known. "My husband was sent to the fron line. To a far off place called Wutai," She paused, trying to recall the events. "I had went to the station because I had gotten a letter saying my husband was coming home on leave. He never came back, though, I just assumed that his leave was cancelled, so I kept going back. Then, one day..."

"... That's when you met Aerith?" I asked, getting a nod.

"You used to see a lot of deaths during the war," She told us. "Her mother said to me 'Please take Aerith somewhere safe' before she died. My husband hadn't come back, and I had no children, so I took her in and raised her as my own. We became close very quickly, she loved to talk. She told me that she and her mother escaped from a research laboratory somewhere, and that her mother had returned to the Planet... and many other things..." We stood in silence, taking in everything she said.

"Returned to the Planet?" Barret asked with confusion.

"I didn't know what she meant, either," Elmyra smiled. "I asked if she meant a star in the sky, but she said it was our own Planet, Gaia. She was mysterious in many ways..."

"How was she able to avoid Shinra all these years?" I asked, intrigued.

"They needed her, so I'm guessing they wouldn't harm her," She replied. "A lot had happened, but we were happy," She sighed, deciding to tell us more. "Every so often, a man named Tseng would visit, asking for Aerith to return to Shinra, but she wouldn't go, she refused everytime."

"So they sent the Turks to kidnap her?" Cloud deduced.

"It started a few years ago, but even before then the Turks were always watching over her," Elmyra sighed. "Tseng caught Aerith while she was trying to escape, she had agreed to go with them as long as the girl with her was brought here."

"Must be Marlene," Cloud stated.

"Can I see Marlene?" Barret asked, his head bowed. "Aerith got caught to protect Marlene? ... I'm sorry... Marlene's my daughter." I didn't listen pay attention to what Elmyra said next. So Aerith was an Ancient? And... they thought Christie was one, too? Without warning, I turned and went outside, looking at the flowers that grew around the house. I just needed to think by myself...

Christie... she isn't an Ancient. They've made a mistake. I would know if she was an Ancient. _She_ would know if she was an Ancient. It was because of the Silver Materia... but... only three people in Shinra know what that Materia is... the problem is knowing which ones are alive. Well, in fact, there's only two...

* * *

_I saw her as she dragged her heels across the ground in sorrow. I quietly rushed to the doorway and watched her cry in her own shame. She deserved this pain, after everything she's done. She walked to the doors and opened them, letting light fill the grey foyer. I couldn't let her just leave, though. I... would be the only one left._

_"Where are you going?" I asked suddenly, walking out from the room I was in and standing a few feet away from her. Her back was turned and she didn't respond. "You know you can't see him..."_

_"I know that..." She replied, choking back tears. "But I... can't go on... everything's... lost now..."_

_"I've lost everything, but I'm not giving up," I snarled, tasting blood that slid from my right cheek into my mouth. "Running away won't solve anything. You're just giving up. Did ruining the lives of everyone here finally reach your conscience?" I knew she was upset, but I harboured so much hate for her. "What are you going to do?"_

_"I'm going... to atone for everything I've done..." I didn't say anything as she walked away. A part of me... knew she wouldn't ever atone._

* * *

After that... I was alone... Oblivion took me to Utopia, then he left. The Superiors raised me for three years, then ordered me kill my Uncle, who wanted me to become a Guardian of the Connections. Now that Christie had been taken... I was alone.

"Oblivion... I really need your help right now," I muttered. Ever since all of this happened I've never... had a real family. I never had a real family to begin with. I never knew my father, I can hardly remember my mother, Oblivion and Fina were the only parents I knew... and they're gone... I just wanted my family back. I wanted my Uncle back. And Christie... I'm not about to lose someone again.

"Cloud... maybe we've been wrong about Angel," I heard Tifa say as I pushed the door open slightly.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked stubbornly.

"Cloud, you didn't see the way she looked when you mentioned-... his name..." Sephiroth. That's who they were talking about.

"Then tell me why she has eyes like his!" ... I wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Alright, she has kind of the same eyes, but is that really reason enough to isolate her and brand her a Soldier?" Tifa sighed. Cloud had crossed his arms and continued his stubborn act. "Cloud... what if she has no connection to him?" I had to step in at that point, I walked inside and the two stared at me. Elmyra walked out of the kitchen, wondering what was going on.

"... They think Christie is an Ancient, as well, that's why Shinra took her," I told them, receiving silence. "It's not true, I've known her for long... I'd know if she was an Ancient. But... Christie's necklace is the Silver Materia. Shinra covet that item, so they won't harm her or Aerith. They think one of them will be able to use it."

"Silver Materia?" Tifa asked.

"I'm not sure what it does, but I know Shinra want it," I sighed, closing my eyes. "The Materia... my Aunt Fina gave it to me. It's because... she told me... I'm an Ancient."

"I had suspected that," Elmyra stated quietly. "Aerith said your eyes were like hers behind all that Mako." I nodded, knowing what she meant.

"Gaia Eyes, a trait of Cetra," I said. "That's why Soldiers have Mako Eyes, Soldier was originally a project to re-create Cetra, but instead... I guess you already know what it's become," There was a silence amongst us; I didn't want to know what they were all thinking. "Listen, I know I've not been the most honest of reliable ally now, but you have to trust my words. I don't want Christie or Aerith to get hurt... so I'm going to Shinra Headquarters and settling it, like I intended to do when I first got to Midgar."

"We're going with you, then," Cloud said sternly. "Aerith got into this mess because of me."

"And I'll go crazy if I stay here, I need to help, too," Tifa agreed.

"... You have your reasons," I replied softly. Barret had returned to the room, I hadn't even realised he was gone. "We're all going, then?"

"Elmyra, can you take of Marlene for a while longer?" He asked, Elmyra smiled at him and nodded.

"Of course, I don't mind," She responsed.

"This place is dangerous, you better go somewhere else," Barret suggested. He was right, when I arrive at Shinra all Hell will break loose.

* * *

"What makes you think going to Sector 6 will help?" Cloud asked Tifa as we made our way through the area. I had never been here before so I didn't know where Tifa was planning to go.

"Well, I was thinking that when Sector 7 fell... maybe the surrounding Sectors had a bit of damage done too?" Tifa replied unsurely. She wasn't all that great at descriptions, but I'm assuming she means that there will be a way to the Plate from Sector 6.

Cloud had went up further north while Barret and Tifa went to a small shop to ask about any way up to the Plate. I had decided to follow Cloud, despite his unnerving hatred towards me, to help look for a way up. He kept his distance from me, constantly looking at me then looking away. Ever since we left Aerith's home I started to realise that his hatred for me had something to do with Sephiroth. But what could I have done to make him hate me?

"You know, you should make your glaring more subtle," I told him, but it came out more harshly than I meant it to be. "This routine is... quite old."

"Hmph," Cloud just snorted and walked past me. I rolled my eyes and followed behind him. We headed up a little further to see three children talking by a giant house.

"C'mon guys! You've gotta see this!" One of the boys exclaimed enthusiastically.

"What is it?" The second boy asked.

"After the big crash, I found a wire that lets you see over the wall to Sector 7!" Or what's left of it, more like. "And it goes up even further! It might even go all the way up to the Plate!"

"Seriously?" The girl grinned, now excited. "Let's see it!" The three children ran off in a hurry to the alley to the right. I was hoping that their suspicios were right, and the wire they were talking about did lead up to the Plate. Tifa and Barret had arrived where we were, holding what seemed to be batteries.

"A wire leading up to the Plate?" Tifa didn't sound impressed after Cloud explained what we had heard.

"It's better than nothing, Tifa," I reasoned. "If it means getting to Shinra, I'm taking any chance that's given to me." Although they didn't say it, I knew that they realised that I had a point. We went round to the alley and spotted the two boys climbing up the wire. The girl was sitting beside the wire, looking up at the two boys.

"Hey! Are you here to see the Upper World, too?" She asked us.

"Does it lead up that far?" Cloud asked.

"I think so, they're only going up to see the Sector," She shrugged and looked up again.

"We'll see how far it goes, then," I looked at the others for a moment. I really didn't care if they were following or not. I was going to Shinra.


	14. Infiltration

Infiltration

Luckily, the wire we climbed did, in fact, take us to the Plate, bringing us to quite close to Shinra HQ. The building was extremely tall, much taller than what I had seen from outside of Midgar. Headquarters must have been... over fifty stories tall. The tallest building I had seen before Shinra was Bevelle Temple. We just stood at the bottom of the stairs that would lead to the entrance of the building. I grew frustrated with them for not moving and looked at the three.

"Well? Are we going in or not?" I asked sternly.

"Maybe we shouldn't just crash in," Tifa replied. "Perhaps there's another way in?"

"Barge in or no, they're going to notice us," I told her stubbornly. "We should just go in and take care of them now, get Christie and Aerith and exit without any hassle."

"It won't be that easy," Cloud glared, crossing his arms. "None of us know where anything in Headquarters is, or where Christie and Aerith are being held. And what about the Soldiers? We won't be able to handle the entire Shinra Army." I don't care. I've stood and defied Gods. An army won't stop me.

"Maybe we should look for a quiet way in?" Tifa suggested. I rolled my eyes and started making my way up the stairs. "Angel where are you going?"

"While you three are busy wasting time- which we don't have- on looking for a quiet way in I'm going to find Christie and Aerith," I snarled. "And don't bother protesting, I won't listen." I turned and continued up the stairs and pushed through the glass door. The Shinra employees didn't notice me or weren't paying attention, except for the secretary, who stared right at me.

"Um, can I help you?" She asked. I turned to her and she reeled back in shock, gasping, which caught the attention of a few people nearby.

"... Does Professor Hojo still work here?" I asked venomously. I hadn't uttered that name in years. I don't care if he remembers who I am. I'll never forget what he did.

"Uh... uh d-do you h-have an appointment?" She stuttered. I narrowed my eyes and placed my hands on the desk, leaning towards her with a glare.

"... Tell him 'Fina's little girl decided to visit'... hopefully he'll know what that means," The woman continued to stare at me in fear. I didn't break eye contact until a security guard came over and grabbed my arm.

"Hey, lady, back off," He started, but I didn't budge. He tugged at my arm in frustration. "You should leave-" I freed myself and smacked him into a wall, making everyone scream and gasp, making more guards run down to look for me.

"We've got a red haired woman in the lobby causing a disturbance!" A guard said into his radio. One tried to hit me on the head, but I ducked down and gave him an uppercut in the chin, then another guard almost got me from behind but I roundhouse kicked him and brought out my staff.

"She's armed!" Another guard yelled into his radio. "She doesn't seem to carry any Materia, though, we'll try and take her down!" I narrowed my eyes and spun around, whacking two guards and ramming my staff into another one's stomach. More soldiers arrived in the lobby so I called forth some fire and shot a burning wave in all directions, hearing more screams, crashing and explosions.

"Holy shit!" They cried out and started to back away. I advanced further and the flames around my body grew, creeping across the ground and moving towards the soldiers. The fire then took hold of them and burned them down to ash.

Once I was sure the room was empty I calmed the flames and started to go upstairs. After about three floors there were no more stairs, so I went over to the elevators and scanned for the highest floor, pressing the button and feeling the elevator move upwards.

I pressed my back against the wall and sighed, sliding down and sitting on the floor. I felt as though I was getting in over my head. Just like when I tried to defy the Superiors on my own seven years ago. That resulted in two year imprisonment in darkness. This could result in me losing what little trust Christie has left of me. If she finds out all that I've been hiding...

But I'm doing this because knowing about the Superiors has already put her life on the line. I don't need Shinra and my past endangering her too...

"Oblivion... what are you doing?" I was feeling so helpless right now. I needed my Uncle to help me now. "Christie I hope that he hasn't done anything to hurt you..." I know what Hojo would do; what he's capable of. I could feel myself start to shake for a moment. I couldn't believe, after all these years, I haven't seen his face in all that time... and I was still afraid of him.

* * *

I reached the fifty-ninth floor and found it to be completely empty, I was expecting more guards to be there when I arrived. I wasn't too sure if Cloud, Tifa and Barret had arrived and continued on without me, either. I continued to wander around the floor, looking for any sign of life, and fully aware that the cameras were watching me. I carefully made my way to the elevators at the other end of the room, bringing out my staff and began to walk even slower, not making any noise when traversing the floor. I had never felt so nervous and afriad before, but I kept telling myself I had to find Christie, and to make sure she's okay and get her and Aerith out of here.

A door suddenly opened and I almost screamed, but held it back and spun to face the door, weapon at the ready. I had relaxed when it turned out to be Cloud, Tifa and Barret, but I still felt my posture was rigid from nerves. I rolled my shoulders back and blanked any emotion from my face. None of us said anything to each other, so I turned around and went to the elevator. It looked like we needed a keycard in order to keep going. So whatever was on the floors above was that important even employees needed permitted access to get there... obviously Hojo's labs were up there, then.

"We need a keycard," I stated blankly. "Where to get one... I don't know."

"Then we look for one," Cloud deadpanned before starting to search the area. I walked down to the other end of the room and started searching amongst the plants. If they didn't send guards down then we'd have to think of another way up, and I wasn't planning to scale the outside of the building. Continuing to look around the bushes I had come to a door just by the plants. Hoping there might have been something to help on the other side I opened the door and found myself outside at a helicopter pad. There was a helicopter on the pad, so I walked up to it, and noticed that there were claw marks on the side and along the ground nearby. I traced my hand over the claw marks slowly, sighing for a moment.

"Christie..." I muttered. So she regained consiousness and tried to fight back. But by the look of it she wasn't able to escape, I could tell from the lack of destruction. That was a clear sign of Christie; she would always cause as much damage as possible if she was in a fight. Looking inside the helicopter I found a small card on the floor. I tried to open it, but they had locked it when leaving, so I raised my arm and rammed my elbow into the window and reached in for the card, reconising it as an ID card.

Reno McKenzie, that Turk who took Christie and crushed Sector 7. I didn't know his last name was McKenzie, but then again it wasn't important. Did the Turks have unrestricted access to Headquarters? They were Shinra's personal bodyguards, after all. I ignored the blood dripping off my arm, I wasn't good at curing Magick anyway. I can't even work Materia that well. But I was an Angel, I was meant to heal people. I guess maybe my Angel abilities had been cancelled out at birth. Maybe, I don't know. But... my Cetra powers... I don't know how to use them, either. After all these years of denying my power, I probably just made it... disappear.

"I think I found something!" I called out, hearing footsteps as the three arrived, Tifa immediantly looking at my bleeding arm. Ignoring it, I held up the ID. "The Turks probably have unrestricted access to the building, so maybe this ID will work?" I received a couple of nods before Tifa spoke.

"But Angel, your arm..." She trailed off in her sentence, nodding to my arm.

"It doesn't matter," I said, sounding fed up. "I can't use recovery Magick and I know I gave Christie the Cure Materia. It really doesn't matter." I went on and placed the ID in the slot by the elevator and let it scan for a moment. Thankfully, it had worked and the doors opened, we went inside the elevator and looked at the lit up numbers. We weren't allowed to go to floors 67 up to 70, well, there was no button to floor 70, it ended at 69. Cloud then pressed 66 and it started moving upwards. I knew we would be getting closer to the labs, and... I doubt Hojo would reconise me.

Don't worry, Christie... I'm coming to get you and Aerith.

* * *

When we reached floor 66 the place was considerably empty. In fact, there was no one on the floor except for us. Ahead of us was a large set of doors probably leading to a large room. We approached the doors slowly and were about to open them when we all snapped our heads to the right, hearing mumbled chatter of several people. Immediantly the four of us ran into another room and closed the door. And it turned out to be a restroom. Cloud went to the door and opened it slightly, spying on the people outside. After a few moments he closed the door and turned to us.

"Shinra Executives and the President," He stated with a low tone. "We need to find out what they're talking about, but going out there and listening through the door would be stupid."

"So... what then?" Tifa asked. Just then we had started to hear echoed mumbling from above. We looked up and spotted a vent and Cloud climbed up onto a sink and pulled the grating off, passing it to Tifa and pulling himself up into the vent.

"I don't think all of us will fit in the vent," He said, then he looked at me, and I could tell he hated his decision. "Angel, with me. Tifa, Barret, try and listen from here." He moved and then I went up into the vent and followed him. The talking got louder as we got closer to what looked like a giant meeting room. Cloud went on one side of the grating while I stayed on the other, starting to feel faint, my eyes getting heavy. They widened when Cloud shook me and we started to pay attention to the meeting.

"We're not rebuilding," The President said, looking to a man in a blue suit, with brown hair and a short beard. I squinted as I tried to get a better look at him. I... I think... I think I've seen him before...

"What?" The man said, visibly trying to contain his anger.

"We'll leave Sector 7 as it is, and we will be restarting the Neo-Midgar plan," The President didn't seem to care that he was angry.

"... Then the Ancients?" The man asked, still attempting to calm himself down.

"The Promsed Land will soon be ours," The President had a triumphant smirk on his face. "I want you to raise the Mako rates by fifteen percent in each area."

"A rate hike!" An older man in a brown suit cheered with a grin. "And please include our Space Program in the budget!"

"Scarlet and Reeve will divide the extra income from the rate increase," The President stated, ignoring the other man.

"Sir, if you raise rates, the people will lose confidence..." The man in the blue suit spoke. Was he the only one with a conscience?

"No at all. The ignorant citizens won't lose faith; they'll trust Shinra Inc even more," The President chuckled.

"Gya ha ha! After all! We're the ones who saved Sector 7 from Avalanche!" A bearded man wearing a green suit laughed loudly. Cloud then shook me when I started feeling drowsy again.

"Your bleeding through the grating," He said, so I pulled my arm away more, but I still felt myself wanting to just collapse.

"Hojo, how are the two girls?" I gasped sharply out of fright and pulled away from the grating. I could still see the meeting room. An old man had entered, wearing glasses and a labcoat and he had greying black hair. Was... that... Hojo?

"Well, as a specimen, she is inferior to her mother," He said factually. "As for the other... she show signs of metallic manipulation. The kind of powers Professor Furanio displayed." It was odd, not a lot of people referred to Fina with her married name. They always called her Fina Rosetta, but she didn't her maiden name. Even Oblivion sometimes called her Rosetta. Even I knew her as Auntie Fina Rosetta, but I knew she was Fina Furanio. I didn't understand why people never knew her by her married name...

"But... how is that possible?" The President seemed shocked. Okay, I know Blade Mages are quite rare, but why were Shinra interested in them?

"I'm not sure, I'm still looking for Professor Furanio's work on it, but I've managed to implant a chip in her neck to prevent her from using her power to escape," He... I remember... but why would Fina make something like that? "Also... I am led to believe that she may not be an Ancient," There was a silence, so Hojo continued. "Indeed, she has the Silver Materia, but it's not her own..." He then looked at the President. "I recall you mentioning... another woman with Avalanche... the one with the Mako eyes... what did she look like?"

"Red hair, and bright blue Mako eyes and cat-like pupils," The President raised his eyebrow, looking at the madman. "... Why?" Hojo had began mumbling to himself, and then looked up. Perhaps he did remember me after all.

"Oh... nothing..." He waved it off and got back onto what he was telling them. "The other girl, as for her the difference between her and her mother is eighteen percent. Unfortunately it would take about a hundred and twenty years to complete the research, that's far too long to be completed in our lifetime, or the lifetime of the specimen's for that matter. That's why we're thinking of breeding her, then we could create one that would be able to withstand our research." Breeding? What is he planning?

"What about the Promised Land?" The President asked, growing impatient with the scientist. "Won't it hinder our plans?"

"That's what I need to plan," Hojo replied, not too bothered with President Shinra's anger. "... Might I request a small favour?" The President looked at Hojo with curiosity. "That Soldier girl... she must be quite upset that her companions have been taken. No doubt she would try to... take back what's hers."

"She and Avalanche died when Sector 7 fell," The man in the green suit said.

"Hmm... I highly doubt that," Hojo smirked. "You see, haven't you heard that a red haired woman weilding fire took out the guards in the lobby?" So he knows I'm here, and they know about the slaughter down below. "No doubt she an Avalanche survived, and they could be making their way up here right now." There was an uncomfortable silence. I wasn't entirely sure why. We were a small faction and they had taken most of us out. Why were they afriad of us? ... Or me, for that matter. The President look to the man in the green suit.

"Heidegger, order the Turks to scout each floor and kill the Avalanche members on sight," President Shinra commanded before Hojo spoke up.

"Leave the girl alive, though," They all looked at him. "She may lead us to the Promised Land." They knew better than to argue with him, and Shinra stood up.

"That concludes our meeting," Shinra and the Executives left the meeting room. I immediantly began to rush my way back to the restroom and climbed out of the vent, stumbling from my dizziness, but trying to shake it off.

"They know we're here," Cloud told Tifa and Barret once he got out of the vent. "We'll need to be careful from now on."

"We need to follow Hojo," I stated, now clutching my arm to stop it from bleeding. "He's got Christie and Aerith... and I have a score to settle with him." They didn't argue, Cloud, much to my surprise, didn't even glare at me. He walked past me and checked to see if the coast was clear.

"Let's go, the Turks probably haven't been informed just yet," He said. We all left the room and to the other side of the hall, and I quickly spotted a man in a labcoat walk up a flight of stairs. I restrained myself from running away out of fear and leaping out to kill him. We quietly followed him up to the next floor, which turned out to be the labs. Hojo continued to make his way to the main lab area, where he started to inspect a red dog like creature inside a container. From behind, I could hear footsteps from behind and pulled everyone to the side, behind a bunch of crates and we watched as one of the lab assisstants appraoched Hojo.

"Is this today's specimen?" He asked the man. Hojo turned to him and nodded.

"Yes, we'll be starting right away. Raise it to the upper level," He ordered, the lab assisstant nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and check on our other specimen, just to make sure she hasn't tried to escape," The assisstant then left with Hojo following, and he stopped to pull out something from his coat pocket. A silver orb in a silver chain. That was my Materia! He began to inspect the orb. "_Even with a tomorrow without promises, I will return to the place where you stand_... hmmm... interesting it would be engraved with this..." He then walked away and left the room. We left our hiding spot and Tifa went over to the animal.

As for me, I had started to feel even more faint and drowsy, and was fighting to stay awake. Cloud had looked inside a different container, which I made the grave mistake of looking into as well.

Inside was a... thing... a headless... thing... I gasped and stumbled backwards to get away from it. That thing... what had happened to its head!? I... knew what that thing was...

Jenova... Jenova... that thing... where did its head go?

I immediantly fell down to my knees and collasped from losing so much blood. Too much was happenning all at once. I couldn't take it...

I needed help...


	15. The Blade Mage

The Blade Mage

I could hear the sound of a chopper slowing down and coming to a stop when I started to come round. I tried not to open my eyes much since I didn't want them to see I was awake. Maybe I could catch them off guard and take them out so I could escape.

Looking around I could see two blurred figures in suits, and one wearing pink. They caught Aerith, too? What the Hell was going on? One of the suited figures got out of the helicopter and then opened the door, and the second figure grabbed Aerith's wrist and pulled her out of the vehicle, and I could feel a sudden shift in movement underneath me.

"Reno, I'll take her, you head to the infirmary," One of the figures said. It was a guy, and I tried to get a look at him, and he seemed to be bald, and wore sunglasses.

"Nah, Rude, I'll be okay," Reno replied, before suddenly groaning in pain. I simply waited until I had a chance to get myself, and Aerith, away from wherever the Hell we were. "Damn, she's a real bugger. She would've made a good Turk if she wasn't working for Avalanche."

"That's nice, Reno," The third person said, still keeping a firm grip on Aerith's wrist. "But let Rude take her, you need to see a doctor about that wound. That's an order." Reno scoffed, but he didn't say anything in protest. I felt him move me and I opened my eyes to see his back, and I immediantly reacted by shoving him off me and falling to the ground, rolling away out of reach and activating my Wrist Blades. The bald man, who I assumed was Rude, came at me and tried to punch my stomach, but I jumped over him and tried to swipe at the third man, but he ducked underneath me, as did Aerith, and I caught the side of the chopper instead.

I suddenly heard a clicking noise and spun around to see Reno with a gun. Blood was still spilling out of his side from where I stabbed him, but it was less now. Before he could shoot I ran at him and slashed at his side again, making him stumbled long enough for me to run, pull Aerith from the third guy and start running away from them.

"Aerith, are you alright?" I asked as we ran from the three guys.

"I'm fine, but you don't have any idea where we're going, do you?" Aerith replied. I suddenly stopped and turned to the Turks, who had began to chase after us.

"No, but let's get these guys off our tails first," I engaged in combat with Rude again and began to throw punches to his chest and upper body, which he blocked and countered. I quickly found that he was more skilled in hand-to-hand combat than I was, but I could still take him. He managed to grab my arm and twist it round to leave me helpless, trying to struggle free from his grip as the other man apporached me, taking hold of Aerith again.

"You're obviously going to be a handful if you are consious," He said, bringing out a gun. I felt my heart race out of fear, and my eyes kept shifting from the gun and the man's face. He aimed the gun at my neck and I squeezed my eyes shut, afriad of what would happen.

I heard Aerith gasp as he fired and then my body went limp as I fell unconsious once again...

* * *

"And what of this one?" I couldn't open my eyes, but I knew I was awake and there were people around me and talking to one another.

"We're not too sure about her. She doe have the Silver Materia, but other than that we're not too sure if she is an Ancient or not," The second person said. He sounded like one of those Turk guys. Wait. What the Hell is an Ancient?

"And you hadn't tried to look at her eyes?" The first man asked, and I felt my chain be removed from my neck. I didn't understand why I couldn't move. I also felt the Looking Glass being taken off my face. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I felt someone's hand touch my face and pull my left eye open. I couldn't see anything but a bright light. And I knew that wasn't any lamp shining in my eye. It was my Aura. It was too strong and I became blind without the Looking Glass.

I opened both my eyes and tried to move, but my muscles felt numb and I could't even struggle. I didn't try to bother looking around me, so I tried to use my voice.

"Where am I?" I asked, breathing heavily. I could sense the room had a lot of metal objects within it, but I tried to control my urge to manipulate any of them.

"Well, you're certianly an interesting one, aren't you?" The man chuckled to himself and I heard his footsteps get closer to me. "Tell me, how did you aquire the Silver Materia?" Materia? Why does he care about that? Whatever, I just took that as my cue to start using Magnetism around the room to intimidate them.

"What was that?" The second man asked out of shock. I continued to use Magnetism, crushing nearby metals and possibly machinery. I would have continued it but I felt a needle peirce my skin and began to feel drowsy. What was with everyone wanting me unconsious?

"That's impossible... how was she able too..." The man stopped midway through his sentence and began to mumble. I could still hear him but it was growing faint now. "Hmm... maybe if I... ah yes... check the databases... perhaps Professor Furanio's experiment..." What? Oblivion a professor!? No... did Fina take Oblivion's name when they married? ... I think she did...

Wait... Did Fina work for Shinra? ... But... I thought... Angie has got some explaining to do!

* * *

When I woke up again I tried to get up, but I still felt drowsy and I didn't want to move. I realised that the Looking Glass was on me again, as I could see that I was inside a lab of sorts, or a containment area. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and felt around me, realising I was in a glass containment pod or something like that. I knew I couldn't really escape, well, I could. The place is made of metal. I started to concentrate on a pipe on the far end on the room and tried to pull it towards me, but it didn't even shake out of place. I tried again, but it didn't even budge.

"What the Hell?" I asked myself. I heard a door open and I turned my head to the side. Two Turks came in, it was that one who had caught Aerith when we arrived here, and Reno, but he still seemed hurt and was limping slightly.

"Good to see you're awake," The Turk said while Reno remained quiet.

"What do you want?" I asked, not wanting to co-operate with them.

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions," He answered calmly. Reno still didn't say anything. Why was he here, anyway? Bragging rights on how he captured me? "We need to know your name."

"Why?" I growled at him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We took a DNA sample from you, but you don't appear on any Shinra database," He replied, narrowing his eyes at me. "No name, date of birth, hometown, no family. Nothing. To us you seemed to have... appeared out of thin air." I scoffed at the comment. In a way, he was right.

"Maybe I did," I responded calmly. "Anything else?"

"Where did you obtain the Silver Materia?" He asked, turning incredibly serious. "And are you an Ancient? And can you use the Silver Materia?"

"Not telling you, what the Hell is an Ancient and no," I said bluntly. There was a silence between the three of us for a while, then the Turk sighed.

"Hey, boss, maybe I should try?" Reno whispered, the other Turk stared at him and sighed.

"I doubt you'll get anything out of her, but you're free to try," He said. "I'm giving you five minutes, then report back to the infirmary." He turned and left the room. I looked at Reno, who looked at me with a smirk. Like I would tell him anything.

"So, Christie," How did he know my name!? "You're a pretty good fighter, and I hear you caused a big mess in the labs a while ago. Where d'you learn to do that?"

"... How do you know my name?" I asked slowly.

"At Sector 7, your friend called you Christie, so I'm guessing that's your name," He shrugged. "She's a bit nuts, her." I chuckled at the comment, that was so true.

"Yeah, she is..." I then remembered that this was the enemy I was talking to, so I immediantly stopped laughing and turned my head away.

"So, Chris," Great, he's given me a nickname now. "What is your name? It's kinda odd that you don't appear in the databases, yet you're here. Why is that?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said to him, still not looking at him.

"Just tell me your name, and maybe your age and birthday?" He asked, tilting his head to the side cutely- wait, no I did not just think that.

"Christie Wilson," I looked at him as I said my name, making him smile and stand up straight.

"I'm Reno McKenzie," He replied. "So... that all you're gonna tell me?" I nodded, but he didn't leave the room. Couldn't he take a hint and fuck off? "Hey, you're not an Ancient, but what about your friend? The red haired lady."

"I never heard of 'Ancients'," I said with a cold tone. "So if I don't know what an Ancient is, how would I know if my so-called friend is one?" He seemed a little taken aback by my statement. "Why the Hell do you need me? I'm practically useless in the Ancient search or whatever the fuck it is. Why can't you just let me go?" The door opened and an old man in a labcoat walked in, rasing his eyebrow at Reno.

"I assumed you were on bedrest," He stated, but he didn't seem to give a damn about it.

"Just asking our friend here some questions," Reno smirked, but then frowned when the old man glared at him. "Alright, I'll leave. Didn't get much from her anyway." Reno then limped out. I don't know why he would bother asking me questions, even though he should hate my guts and be in a bed trying to heal.

"So, you are very intriguing," He said as he shuffled around my glass cage. "According to Shinra... you shouldn't even exist. So how did you come to be?" What the fuck? I couldn't tell him that I was on an island called Besaid then Angie sudeenly threw me into a Portal and the next thing I knew I was in Midgar.

"I'm going to pass on that question," I affirmed after a long pause. He then went into his pocket and pulled out the Silver Sphere... or Silver Materia or whatever it was called.

"Then how did you manage to get this?" He asked. I looked at the metal pipe again and tried to move it, but it still wouldn't work! He turned around and then laughed at my efforts, turning to me again. "After that little show you displayed, I took the liberty in installing a chip that was developed to surpress one's powers of Magnetism," Wait... how did he know about that? As if he read my mind, he answered my question. "Professor Fina Furanio had developed it some time ago, to surpress her own powers. But after her... unfortunate demise I took it, just incase another Blade Mage came along." Hold on... if he knew Fina... did that he knw Angie and Oblivion?

"... It's not mine," I faltered, looking down at the ground. He could sense my weakening, and continued.

"I'm aware of that," He said. "I need to know if the owner of this Materia was with you!" The owner...? Okay, I tried to remember five years ago... when I first saw the Superiors and found out Angie was some sort of Threat. They were looking for Oblivion's Spheres... didn't Angie ask me to look after the Silver Sphere for her? Hold up-!

Oblivion said... she needed to go 'back'... Gaia... this world... was this 'back'? But I wasn't sure if the Silver Materia was Angie's. Why did this guy care about the owner of the Materia so much?

"I'm not telling you anything," My instincts were telling me not to trust him. And besides, how could I tell him anything when I didn't even know what was going on myself?

"Then at least tell me where you learned of the inscription on the pendent?" The inscription? I just remember Angie saying 'Even with a tomorrow without promises, I will return to the place you stand'... she said it was from something she read when she was younger. The name of it escapes me. "Hmph, I'll just have to wait and see if my suspicions are correct. Your friends will probably be heading here to save you and your other friend. I have enough pantience to wait until they arrive." He laughed to himself as he left the room, leaving me alone again. I felt so frustrated right now. I couldn't believe how much Angie was really hiding from me. When will she just come clean about her past instead of lying and not telling me anything?

I really hope you guys are coming for me, because I need to know the truth. I promised Fina I'd look after Angie, and I can't do that until I know exactly what's going on.


	16. The Calamity

The Calamity

"Angel! Wake up!" My eyes fluttered open as I found Tifa, Cloud and Barret standing over me. I sat up and looked at my arm, letting my mouth drop. It had... completely healed? But... none of us have any healing Magick.

"What happened?" I asked, still staring at my arm.

"We don't know, but when you collasped it just suddenly healed over," Tifa answered, standing up and offering her hand. I took it and stood up. "But can't Ancients heal themselves?"

"I guess so, as far as I'm concerned," I shrugged. "But I've never been good at using healing Magicks, I focus too much on offense," I shook my head, still unsure of how I was healed. Anyone's guess was as good as mine. "Look, I've watsed too much time. We have to find Aerith and Christie." They all nodded in agreement, then Cloud looked over to the other side of the room.

"There an elevator there, perhaps we can surprise them if we use it," He had a point. Hojo wouldn't expect it. Everyone walked over to the elevator but I took one last look at Jenova. I still wondered where the head was, but at least I didn't have to look at its face. Even being around it made me feel sick. I turned away from it and caught up with the others, getting into the elevator and taking my gun out. I took a deep breath in to calm my nerves.

"Hey, why you so nervous?" Barret asked.

"Hojo... he scares me. But I promised myself I get revenge on him for what he did... but I'm terrified in case I'm too late..." I answered, feeling my hands start too shake.

"What did he do?" I didn't answer that question. I wasn't ready to talk about it.

The elevator opened and the room was another lab. It was a lot bigger and spacious then the one below. I immediantly walked out quickly, and aimed my gun at Hojo when I spotted him standing on a platform above all of the machinery.

"Hojo!" I yelled, catching his attention and his eyes widening as I glared at him and felt fire form in my free hand.

"Rhapsodos!?" He exclaimed, making me stumble back in fright. What did he just call me?! My glare changed into fear and my fire faded as I started to shake in fear of him.

"What?" I gasped, knowing everyone was looking at me. I didn't break eye contact with Hojo as he regained his posture and stood up straight, acting as though he was superior than I.

"Hmm... it looks as though the fool was right all along," He said, reconising me now. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"

"Where is Christie?" I asked, rasing my gun again with shaking hands.

"Christie?" He asked mockingly. "Oh, you mean the one who held this?" He took out my Materia from his pocket and dangled it in front of me. I narrowed my eyes and took another deep breath in. "I knew you would return for it. You would always come back for something," I growled and took the safety off my gun. "Now, now, you should think before you do anything drastic, my dear. I'm the only able to work all of this delicate equipment, and you want your friends to be safe, don't you?" I looked to Cloud, who shook his head so I lowered my gun, sighing out of frustration. I can't let him get away with this.

"Just try and stay calm, we'll get a chance to save them," Cloud said... to me? I think that was the very first time he had actually spoke to me. I looked to the container, where Aerith was being held, and watched as something was taken from the lower floor up into the container. It was the creature from the lab below. Although Cloud had be to keep my calm, he didn't take his own advice. "What are you doing!?"

"These two races are on the brink of extinction, I'm merely giving them a helping hand," Hojo smirked, making my blood both boil with anger and run cold with fear. "If I don't help, both of these animals will disappear."

"Animal! Aerith is a human being!" Tifa screamed. The creature stood and turned to Aerith, making her back away from it as it begun to growl at her dangerously. Before any of us could react there was a sudden blast from the other end of the room...

"Didn't even bother trying to find me!" I instantly knew the owner of that twanged voice. Christie entered the scene, wearing a blood red shirt, black trousers, a long black coat and black knee length boots. In fact, she almost looked like Lysander's female counterpart in that Gunner Dressphere.

"How did you escape!?" Hojo exclaimed in shock. Christie turned her shotgun onto him and glared.

"I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves," She snarled. She looked over to me and glared. I know she was wearing that bloody Looking Glass but it was clear as day she was glaring at me. She then immediantly turned to face the container and blasted her shotgun, shattering the glass and setting off the alarms. Hojo ran forward to the container in horror.

"No! My specimens!" He yelled out before the creature leapt out and started to attack Hojo. Taking advantage of the distraction, Cloud ran into the container and pulled Aerith out before the elevator had lowered again.

"What's going on?" Aerith asked as we heard the elevator rise back up again. This clearly wasn't good. The creature turned its head to us and stepped forward as Hojo got up after the attack.

"That's no ordinary specimen arriving!" He laughed as he got up and started to back away. I gritted my teeth and pointed my gun at him again. "You should know better than to shoot me, deary. Unlike before, Fina isn't here to look after you, and I wonder why..." He had touched a nerve there. My eye twitched and I fired my gun. And I would have hit if I wasn't knocked to the ground by a massive claw, sending my gun sliding across the ground and out of reach. I jumped up and pulled out my staff, gaping at the monster in front of me. Hojo... why am I surprised? Hojo is capable of far worse...

The monster stood up and raised its claw, slamming it down and breaking nearby equipment. Christie unloaded her shotgun into it to distract it as Cloud and Tifa charged towards it. I ran and picked up my gun, shooting a few rounds into it as it threw Christie into a nearby wall, and I noticed she was no longer in a Dressphere. Her Grid and all of her Dressphere fell and shattered as they collided with the ground, reverting Christie back into her regular clothes. She pulled her self up and stumbled a little as she realised what had happened to her Grid, not noticing the monster come at her again.

I put my staff away and summoned two fireballs and hit the monster's back, making it turn and roar, coming for me. As it swiped its claw I dcked, rolled underneath it and blasted another fireball into it. The creature then cast a Fire Spell as Cloud hacked it in two with his sword. As the thing shook and squirmed for a moment before it died, we backed away from it, and I turned to see that Hojo had escaped while we were fighting.

"Dammit!" I kicked over a piece of equipment in anger, knowing everyone was looking at me. I calmed myself down, but still angry at letting him get away, and faced the group. "We should get out before we attract more attention," I looked at Aerith and Christie, apporaching the latter. "Are you alright?"

"Aerith seems alright... in many ways," Tifa responded, making the creature shake its head and grunt.

"I have a choice as well, you know," He spoke, startling us all for a moment. "I don't like two legged beings. No offense."

"None taken," Aerith smiled. "What's your name?"

"Hojo has named me 'Red XIII', a name with no meaning to me," Red XIII, why would he call him that? If Hojo gave him that name then why has he decided against telling us his real name? Red picked up something and walked over to me. "Hojo said that this was yours, didn't he?" He was holding the Silver Materia necklace in his mouth. I crouched down and took it silently, looking at Red for a moment as I stood up and put it around my neck.

"... Um," I cleared my throat and looked around nervously. "We should go, but I think we should split up."

"Yeah, seven people wandering around they'll catch us easily," Cloud agreed. "Tifa, Barret and Aerith will be with me, we'll leave through the front. Angel, take Christie and Red down the backway." I nodded and our two teams split up. We ran down the stairs as we headed down to floor 60, then we would take the elevator down to floor 59 and take the stairs.

"Angie what's an Ancient and what's the Silver Materia got to do with it?" Christie asked harshly as we ran down to floor 63. I immediantly halted and glared at her.

"Christie this isn't really the best time to be asking questions-"

"It's _never_ a good time to ask questions with you!" She snapped as she approached me and jabbed my shoulder with her finger. "I don't care anymore! I'm sick of this! Tell me what's going on NOW!" We turned to Red as he yelped and fell to the ground with a dart sticking out of him. Before we could react I had felt a dart go into my neck and I collapsed as the chemicals seeped into my bloodstream and knocked me out cold.

* * *

_Christie's POV_

"Yeah, I can walk by myself," I snarled as that Turk, Cissnei, pushed me into the office along with Red XIII. I looked around the room, seeing Cloud, Tifa and Barret there as well. The two Turks stood behind us as we all looked at the President. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," Cloud answered. "Where's Aerith and Angel?"

"Not to worry," The President said as he stood up. "They're safe. We wouldn't dream of harming the remaining Cetra." Cetra? What the Hell is that? He noticed our confused expresions and continued. "Cetra, or Ancients as you call them, are a race who lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history." So it was true. Angie's an Ancient.

"Those girls are survivors of the Cetra race?" Red asked, sounding quite amazed.

"What are you going to do with them?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"As they are the last of the Cetra, I am expecting a lot from them," The President smirked. "And now that we also have the Silver Materia, we should be led to the Promised Land with ease."

"The Promised Land?" I raised my eyebrow at the name. "Sounds like a fable to me."

"Even so, it's just too appealing not to pursue," The President made his way towards us and scanned us all like we were scum. "The Promised Land is said to be very fertile... and if the land is fertile..."

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret exclaimed. From what I was hearing I could tell that it wasn't great news.

"Indeed. The abundant amounts of Mako will just come out and on top of it all will be Neo-Midgar. Shinra's new glory!" He chuckled to himself at his plan, making me mad.

"Like Hell would Angie help you!" I screeched, making the President turn to me.

"But if she helps us, she will get everything she has desired. And Professor Hojo has said he can... persuade your friend," No... Angie would be mad if she turned against me... she's done a lot of things that have made me mad... but she'd never turn against me. "I believe that's will be all for our meeting."

"What!?" Both Barret and I exclaimed at the same time. Cissnei took the others away while Rude had to hold me and Barret back.

"Hold it! I've got a lot I wanna say to you!" Barret yelled before he was taken away, along with me.

"Let me see Angie!" I ordered. The President just ignored us and we were taken to the prison cells on the lab floor.


	17. Thirty Years

Thirty Years

Why was I so stupid? I should have known it would have been hard getting out of the damn building! Now I was stuck in the bloody labs again! I was free to walk around the massive room, but the doors had been locked so I wouldn't get away. I knew all the cameras in the room were watching my every move, and if I tried anything no doubt they'd put the entire Shinra Army on my tail, so I knew better than to do anything to get out.

I had been unconsious for a while, and ever since I woke up I had been banging on the doors and prowling around like a caged animal. Occasionally I kicked tables and pieces of equipment out of frustration. I continued to storm around the room, waiting for something to happen. I looked to the tank where Jenova's body was held, glaring at it before continuing to stalk around the area.

What was worse was that Christie was definately still pissed at me for not knowing what was going on. In truth I didn't know what was happening, either. All I wanted was to get revenge on Hojo and... Oblivion said he was still alive. Other than that... everything was a total confusion to me. I sighed and attempted to calm myself down, but when I had started to think about the fact that he could be alive... I just kept feeling guilt and tears forming in my eyes. I pinched the bridge of my nose then covered my mouth to try and stop myself from crying.

Looking to the far end of the room there was a display case that should have held three swords or other types of weaponry. Two of the weapons were missing but one remained in perfect condition, as though it had never been used before. It was a long white bladed sword with a silver basket hilt shaped like Angel wings with a small dark purple Materia inbetween them along with another green one on the tip of the hilt. It was quite a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, but it was a waste that no one had wanted to weild it.

"Ah, I see you're awake," I turned my head to see Hojo entering the room. I glared at him as he walked to the display case. He then looked at me and smirked. "So, has long has it been? You've certianly grown into a fine young woman, Angie." I crossed my arms and continued to glare.

"Yeah, it's been a while," I answered coldly. "Midgar's changed since I left. The whole world has as far as I'm concerned."

"Indeed. Shinra was worried when we had learned that after Fina's death you and Oblivion had... suddenly disappeared," I uncrossed my arms and clenched my fists angrily. "Now, you seem to be perfectly fine, but what of your-"

"That's none of your buisness," I snapped. Hojo didn't seem intimidated by my anger. He probably still saw me as a little girl.

"Very well," He chuckled and looked inside the display case, staring at the sword inside. "A fine sword, don't you think? I couldn't help but notice your interest in it when I entered the room."

"It's a lovely sword," I deadpanned, keeping a stern face and tone as I spoke to him. Hojo took a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the case, taking out the sword and smirking at a thought in his head.

"Fina did a fine job in making it, along with it's brother-blade," What? Fina made that sword? And a... brother-blade? "She made this especially for you, you know. She thought that one day you and Sephiroth would fight alongside each other in Soldier. Along with those... other monsters..."

"You're madder than you were ten years ago," I muttered, making Hojo give me a puzzled look and set the sword down.

"Ten years?" He asked, then burst into a fit of laughter. "Ten years!? Oh, deary, you really think it's only been that long?"

"You babbling now," I growled, unsure of how to take his sudden reaction. "What are you talking about?" I just felt myself get angrier and angrier with this man. If he didn't explain what was happening then-

"It's been thirty years since last we met," I completely froze, wide eyed and mouth agape. Did he say... thirty years? Thirty years since it happened...?

"... Y-y-you're... you're lying..." I wavered, feeling my voice shake. "You're lying. That can't be true. It can't possibly-"

"Did you honestly think Midgar and Shinra could have turned into all of this in just ten years?" Damn, he had a point. I looked at the ground in disbelief. How could I have missed thirty years. More importantly... what had happened to...

"Thirty years...?" I murmered, still trying to regroup from the bombshell. I was so shocked that suddenly, any urge to kill him had... it had been replaced with a need to know. And Hojo seemed to have the answers I needed, despite how much I hated him. Then I came to another conclusion. "Then... Sephiroth would be-"

"Sephiroth is dead," I looked up at him and suddenly glared. Sephiroth is dead? And he didn't care!? "Pity, he was a brilliant Soldier, if you hadn't followed your Uncle then you would have also made a great Soldier."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint," I spat, waiting for his next comment. Hojo chuckled and shuffled to the container with Jenova in it.

"It wouldn't have mattered, you would have run off with Hollander's freaks, anyhow," He scoffed, looking into the container. "Blood _is_ thicker than water, you know."

At that moment I stumbled back and collapsed to the ground. Did he just say... blood is thicker than water... does that mean... Hollander? Who was that? But... blood is thicker than water...

"I... I have... family?" I asked, completely letting down my guard and letting him lead me on with what could be a lie. "But... my father... he died... and my mother-"

"From what Fina told me, your mother married someone else," Hojo smirked, seeing that I was vulnerable now. "And had another child, but you wouldn't know. Your mother abandoned you and left you with your Uncle and Aunt. Now, you're just a monster. One who should have known better." His words cut right into me. My mother... she did love me. She did care about me. But... why did he keep calling me a monster?

"Me? A monster?" I asked, my emotions swinging back and forth at high speeds.

"You are Fina's Monster, and nothing you can do will ever change that," Hojo replied. I stood up and glared at him, feeling my anger swell up and I just wanted to burst. In one swift movement I leapt towards the sword, grabbed it and advanced towards him.

"The only monster here is you!" I screeched, my hands shaking in rage. "I'm not a monster! I'm not!" I had heard it so many times from the Superiors. I could just feel myself breaking inside. "How could happen!? How could Sephiroth die!? How did he die!? What about this... this other child my mother had!? What is going on!?" Hojo started to laugh at me, making me feel weak and scared. I didn't... how could I trust what his word? How could I be sure he was telling the truth? During my thoughts Hojo had went to the door and was about to leave the room.

"Now why would I tell you everything when you should piece it together yourself?" He smirked, surpressing a chuckle. "Perhaps you should go back to Nibelheim, or even your birthplace for that matter," He then asked me a question, which at the time I didn't realise how important it was. "Do you still read Loveless?"

"... Why?" I asked quietly, lowering the sword. Hojo smirked and turned to the door to leave.

"Just as I thought," He said to himself cryptically, and was about to leave. But I had to stop him... even though I was scared.

"Tell me..." I tried to sound angry, but it came out in a whimper. "What are you going to do with the Promised Land? What has Loveless got to do with it? ... I need to know what is going on." Hojo looked at me, his beady black eyes scanning me over, then looking to my scars on my face.

"I _could_ tell you..." He pondered to himself, a hand on his chin. "But I've already told you to return to Nibelheim, and why do you want me to help?" I don't. I remained silent and stared at him. "It shouldn't be a problem for you. I've always wondered if you would return, like that sibling of yours both of you came back for my head." He then turned and left, locking the door behind him. I stood dumbfounded for a while, trying to process the information.

Return to Nibelheim...

The place where it all began...

And my birthplace...

But I don't know where I was born...

I looked at the sword in my hand. Fina had made it... for me? And a brother blade was made? Did that mean... I had a brother? A brother that I never even knew about? Why would Fina and Mother hide this from me? Did Oblivion know about this as well? I went to the case the sword was held in and looked inside. The names of the three sword that used to be inside it were given.

Masamune...

Rapier...

And my sword...

Memoria Ensis.

But as I looked in the glass case I caught my reflection... my scars... when I was unconsious Hojo must have done something to me... my scars weren't the pale red colour they were before when they were healing. Instead... instead they were the same Mako blue colour as my eyes...


	18. The New President

The New President

My eyes snapped open when I heard a scream echo from a room not far from the labs. I had fallen asleep sitting against a bunch of crates, the Memoria Ensis beside me. After an eternity of internal debating I had decided that if Fina had made the sword for me, I would honour that and use the sword. I had heard footsteps get closer and closer to the door, and due to my surprised and shocked state, I didn't feel ready to take on whatever was behind that door. Immediantly I picked up my sword and hid behind the crates as the footsteps came closer and closer, making my heartbeat start to race. I didn't dare look to see who it was, I was scared in case I was spotted. As the footsteps grew to their loudest, I suddenly began to grow sick and felt as though I would vomit. Why was I feeling this way? I hadn't felt sick like this since... Jenova... when I saw Jenova in that container. I had started to grow sick and I collapsed back then...

The person continued to walk by and the sick feeling faded with them. When I was sure it was safe I got out from behind the crates and looked around the room. On the ground were bloody footsteps, and as I followed them with my eyes, I realised that they had taken Jenova with them as they passed by. What they need with Jenova's body though? I quickly glanced at my weapons, before quickly strapping on a holster for my sword. It was quite weird as it strapped onto my back and hung looslely, with the sword being held in a holster that swung by my hips. I had to admit it was also convinient as it also acted as a holster for my staff, as the sword wasn't on my back I could place my staff there. Once I had prepared myself mentally, I followed the blood to the elevator.

In the next lab above, I was met with a thick, eerie silence that made me feel insecure as I walked through the silent halls, seeing the bodies of those who were slaughtered by the person passing through. It made me wonder what this person wanted. But then again, when I had arrived here I had killed many people out of rage, trying to get to my goal. I continued to follow the blood trail and had ended up going to the second highest floor before hearing footsteps and people talking. I quickly rushed to the base of the staircase and then walked up them slowly, hearing conversation as I got closer.

"... T-that's impossible!" I heard President Shinra exclaim. "You... you died!"

"Another lie you made to save your own reputation," A strange, eerie voice replied. I quietly got up the stairs and then swiftly went behind a pillar. Turning my head around to see the conversation, I could see President Shinra and a tall man with long silver hair wearing black leather who held a long bladed sword in his left hand. He seemed to scare the President as he stood there. "Now, I've heard that you are looking for the Promised Land... but Mother and I can't let you have it."

"What do you mean?" The President asked. The man then jumped up and landed behind him, impaling his sword into the President's back, killing him instantly.

"No one will take the Promised Land away from Mother..." He mumbled to himself. I quickly looked and received a glance at his face. Sharp features and green, cat-like pupils... oh my Gaia... like mine...

The man left his sword in the President's back and began to walk out to the balcony. I could feel my heart racing as he passed me. But, for some strange reason, I couldn't stop myself from uttering something...

"_Hakura tooku yoru o koete... Sabaku no umi o samayou..._" I heard footsteps stop and I immediantly shut my mouth in fear. Why did I say it? What made me say it? The footsteps begun again; I held my breath and shut my eyes, my heartbeat going faster and faster.

Then a door opened and the footsteps faded away...

I remained where I was for another few moments before breathing in and walking away from the pillar and towards Shinra's desk, examining the sword impaled in him. The sword was long and the blade was thin. Perfect for slicing and piercing objects. The sword was clearly dangerous when used correctly, but it looked like a difficult blade to master. This man was... well it seemed as though he was going to protect the Promised Land.

I looked up as I heard footsteps. I walked out from behind the desk and prepared myself in case it was guards. Instead it was Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Christie, Barret and Red XIII. They had all turned to me, then to the dead President.

"What happened here?" Christie asked, indicating the dead man.

"I'm not sure," I replied honestly. "A silver haired man killed him, and left his sword."

"Silver hair?" Tifa repeated, looking to Cloud, then running over to the sword. "Cloud, this sword belongs to-"

"Sephiroth. I know," He nodded. I looked at him the moment he faced me. "So he was here... but why?" We suddenly heard a sound and snapped our heads to the side, seeing a man in a brown suit spot us and try to run, but Barret caught him andstopped him from getting away.

"P-please! Don't kill me!" He begged in fear. Cloud approached him with a stern, intimidating expression on his face.

"What happened to the President?" He asked in a serious tone, making the man tremble and cower.

"S-Sephiroth said that he didn't want the President and Shinra having the Promised Land," He answered, making Cloud look over to the sword and Aerith.

"So Sephiroth wants to protect the Promised Land? Does that mean he's on our side?" Aerith wondered. I hoped that was right... but unfortunately...

"No," Cloud answered. "I know him. He would have his own reasons for doing it..." We were suddenly distracted by a loud noise from outside, on the balcony. The man escaped and ran outside to meet the person who was arriving in the helicopter.

"Shit!" Barret yelled in anger. "Just when I thought Shinra was done for! I forgot about him!" I glanced to Barret, confused over what he was talking about.

"Who?" I asked.

"Rufus Shinra. The President's son," Barret answered with a scowl. "I heard he was away on a buisness trip for Shinra... it's also been said no one has ever seen him bleed or cry."

"So, that means he's going to be the new President?" Christie asked rhetorically. "Then I suggest we give him a proper welcoming party." We all nodded and began to rush outside to meet the President. When we arrived outside I felt a ice cold breeze of air collide with my face and blow my hair into it. I brushed my hair aside and looked to a man wearing a white three-piece suit emerging from the helicopter. He was quite attractive looking with blonde hair a icy blue eyes. The man in the brown suit went inside the helicopter as the younger man stared at us then stepped forward.

"Well, look at what we have here," He smirked. "How about we get the introductions over with?"

"... Why should we tell you who we are?" Cloud crossed his arms and scowled. "Besides, you probably already know."

"Of course I do. Avalanche, right? What a crew," Rufus replied, still smirking as he talked. "Well, I should introduce myself: I am Rufus Shinra, the new President."

"Yer only President 'cause yer old man died!" Barret yelled at him in anger.

"True," Rufus chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. "And as the new President, how about I let you hear my new appointment speech?" We didn't have time to answer, as he continued speaking anyway. "My old man tried to control the world with money, and it had seemed to be working. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. Everyone believed Shinra would protect them, and it seemed so perfect on the outside. But I do things a little differently. It takes too much to do it like the old man, I'll control the world with fear. A little fear will control the minds of the common people, there's no need to spend money on them." I had only just met him and I was already unimpressed.

"He likes to make big speeches... just like his father..." Tifa scoffed with a glare directed at Rufus. Cloud had turned to face Barret at this point.

"Barret, get Aerith and Angel out of here," What? Okay, _now_ he had started to consider my safety? "Now, I'll take care of Rufus."

"What do you mean by that?" Barret asked, slightly miffed.

"Just do it! This is the real crisis for the planet!" Cloud growled back. I didn't understand what he meant by that, but he wanted everyone out. But I didn't want to leave.

"You think you can him on your on?" I asked in a half-whisper. Cloud started blankly at me then shook his head.

"Just go. It's dangerous for you and Aerith," He told me, taking me aback slightly. Seeing that he was being too stubborn, I gave up and agreed.

"Fine, I will," We all took off and left him to take on Rufus himself. We ran down the stairs and down to the offices. Tifa slowed down to a halt, making us stop in turn.

"I'll wait for Cloud, you all have to get to the elevator!" She told us, but she getting rid of us that easily.

"We can't just wait for him, we have to help," I retorted. "Isn't that a team's supposed to do?"

"You're the last person to have any say about that!" Christie suddenly blurted out, startling me as I turned to face her. "You are a fucking hypocrite, ya know that!?"

"Stop it! You can both argue later!" Aerith exclaimed. I hated whenever Christie would start snapping at me.

"Trust me, this is a daily thing," Christie snarled. "Fine, Angie, if you're so worried about Cloud you and Tifa can wait for 'im here while I go the logical route and get Aerith outta here!" Before she left, I felt a sudden anger rise inside of me. I wanted to shout at her but I kept biting my tongue to aviod saying something I would regret. Why do I constantly withstand her verbal, and occasionally physical, abuse towards me?

As the others left Tifa and I ran back to the balcony to find Rufus backing away from Cloud before grabbing hold of the helicopter and escaping us.

"Dammit..." Cloud muttered and turned around, shocked as he saw both of us. "I told you to get out of here!"

"We can't just leave you," Tifa argued. "The others are already heading down to the lobby, we need to catch up with them." Suddenly there were bright lights from the ground and we heard several hundred guns being loaded. I looked over the edge of the balcony to see an army of Shinra soldiers at the entrnce, and possibly surrounding the entire building.

"It looks like we're surrounded," I stated, remaining calm. "How do you propose we get out?" Cloud looked out to the area surrounding the building, before focusing on one area in particullar.

"There," He pointed out a motorway that closely passed the side of the building. "If we can find a vehicle we might be able to escape from that highway."

"There's a truck down in the lobby, if my memory serves me correctly," I told him. "But I don't believe it can hold all of us. I think we'll need another type of transport." Cloud and Tifa seemed to go into a state of thought for a few moments, while I looked down below to see the soldiers preparing for an assult.

"Tifa, go down to the lobby and get everyone in the truck, if it's still there," Cloud ordered, and Tifa responded with a nod and dashed off. "Angel, with me." I raised my eyebrow but complied anyway. He took me down several dozen floors to what looked like a floor dedicated to storing vehicles. There were many jeeps, cars and motorcycles in the room, and Cloud was approaching one of the bikes, starting to hotwire it.

"What exactly are we planning to do once we escape?" I asked, accidently sounding rude as I was still angry with Christie.

"... We're gonna find out what the Hell you are," Cloud muttered. His answer disturbed me gravely. "And what the Hell happened to Sephiroth," He stood up and mounted the working motorbike. "... Can you drive one of these?" I stood in silence for a moment, completely stunned by the question. I've ridden one or two Chocobos, but that's as far as my driving ability goes. Noticing this, Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Get on." I quickly complied and sat behind him on the bike. He started the bike and slowly drive out to the lobby. I remained quiet the whole ride down. I started to feel scared that... I'd lose Christie and everyone if they find out who I really am...


	19. Escape Headquarters

Escape Headquarters

"Well this is bloody brilliant, isn't it?" I growled, still very pissed off with Angie and her stupid hypcritical personality. Honestly first she's all like 'I'd rather do this alone', 'I'd rather you not know' or 'I don't want you to be involved' to 'We need to help them' and 'We can't leave them behind' for fuck's sake she needs to get her record straight. And bloody Shinra soldiers were now surrounding us and we were stuck in the fucking lobby!

"You just find a way out," Aerith told us. "It's not you they want... it's me..."

"Look, you got caught up in this because you were trying to protect Marlene!" Barret told her. "It's now my turn to look after you." He loaded his Gun-Arm and stepped out to the doors, aiming his gun at the soldiers outside. "Okay, playtime's over for you jackasses!" The reply was gunfire that made us all duck down behind the counters and other objects. I called up an Aura Orb and vaulted over the counter I was hiding behind.

"Get to fuck you bastards!" I threw the orb and it crashed through the doors and made contact with the soldiers at the front and making a pretty large explosion. I dove back behind the counter again and prepared my blades incase any soldiers came inside.

"I don't believe you should attempt that again," Red stated from afar. "That's possibly the entire Shinra army out there." Right now, I couldn't really give a shit! I was so pissed off I had to take my anger out on something!"

"Guys!" We looked up to the stairs to find Tifa running down them, ducking as gunfire burst through the windows again. "Listen! We have to get back, this way!"

"But where's Cloud and Angel?" Aerith asked, crouching as more gunfire came down.

"They'll be here soon! Just follow me!" Tifa sprinted to the back of the lobby, and the rest of us immediantly followed. Tifa was getting inside a truck that was there, and Aerith went into the passenger seat while Barret, Red and I jumped into the back. Tifa started the truck and we heard a rumble from a motorcycle that was driving down the stairs to meet with us. Cloud was driving while Angie was on the back, her gun in her hand and not looking at us. Cloud then turned to face us and gave a slight nod to Tifa.

"Follow me," He said and drove off. Tifa started the truck and followed Cloud, driving up the stairs and somehow gaining speed. To be honest I had no idea what they were planning, but as long as we were getting out of this place. The truck stopped at the top of the stairs and was angled to face the windows. Cloud and Angie were just just in front of us, and Angie shot a few bullets into the window before Cloud and Tifa hit the pedals and drove straight towards the cracked window, Cloud crashed right through it and we followed suit, landing on a motorway, sharply turning to follow Cloud's bike to escape Shinra.

"Yo! Their followin' us!" Barret pointed to Shinra soldiers on bikes trying to get closer and hit us. I charged up another Aura Orb and blasted one of their bikes. Cloud and Angie turned their heads and Cloud slowed the bike down.

"We'll hold them off, just get out of here!" Cloud said to Tifa as he slowed down the bike and proceeded to take out the Shinra soldiers with his sword while Angie shot them down. Barret and I attacked soldiers that got too close while Angie and Cloud were too busy, but we remained pretty safe as sometimes Angie would throw fire balls at them. The truck continued to drive on a strangely empty motorway until Cloud's bike suddenly caught up with us and Cloud turned to us while Angie continued to fire off bullets.

"Cloud! What's going on?" I asked.

"They've sent a machine after us, just keep going!" I looked around and gaped as a massive robot was chasing us. Barret fired at it to hold it back, Red cast a Fire spell to its wheels. I started to throw Aura Orbs at it, which always hit as it was a big target but it still kept coming at us.

Eventually we all fell back as Tifa and Cloud suddenly stopped driving and I banged my head. Groaning I got up and jumped off the truck, looking at the massive machine coming towards us. Barret, Red, Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Angie and I all stood our ground, either charging up a spell or preparing for a melee attack. I let my blade shoot out and crouched into my battle stance.

The machine eventually caught up with us and Red cast a Fire spell, Barret fired off dozens of bullets, Cloud jumped up and slashed the machine while Tifa went around and attacked it, I ran towards it and hacked it with my blades, while Aerith kept behind us and cast healing spells whenever we were hurt. Angie had appeared behind me and ran to the machine, slashing it with... a sword!? When in Hell did she get a sword!?

During my shock Tifa had pulled me back to avoid getting burned by a flamethrower the machine had equipped to it. Cloud cast a Thunder spell that caused it to malfunction, so I blasted it with an Aura Orb, while Angie plunged her sword into the core, making it shut down and destroyed it. She took the sword out and put it away, walking slowly back to us as Cloud end to the end of the road that overlooked the Slums below. I didn't realise that the city was still under construction. We stood in silence for a while, noticing the sunrise from afar.

"... So what do we do now?" Barret asked, breaking the silence. Cloud stayed quiet, still thinking. I wasn't entirely sure what I was gonna do. But I knew I would have to follow Angie. I wasn't being left alone in a world I barely knew.

"Sephiroth's alive..." Cloud sighed, his arms crossing over his chest. "I have to settle the score..." What score? I have no idea who this Sephiroth guy is, but apparantly he freaks Angie out and Cloud knows him. That's all I know.

"And that'll save Gaia?" Barret asked.

"Seems like it," Cloud shrugged. I still don't get it. What has this Sephiroth guy got to do with saving the Planet? And what the fuck is the Promised Land. I don't know if it's a real place or a metaphor!

"Then I'm in!" Barret announced.

"I'm going too... I have things I need to find out," Aerith spoke up. Cloud turned to her and uncrossed his arms.

"About the Ancients?"

"... Many things," Aerith replied quietly. Cloud nodded, not pressing her for answers, and looked at Red, Angie and me.

"What about you guys?"

"I'll go with you to as far as Cosmo Canyon," Red stated.

"... I... I need to get to Nibelhiem," Angie stammered, near silently. I rolled my eyes and pushed the Looking Glass up the bridge of my nose.

"I'll go as far as I need to," I shrugged. I didn't know how far that would be. For all I know that would be going around the world and back.

"Then I guess it's goodbye Midgar," Tifa sighed. "How do we get out, though?" I looked up and spotted a crane on the far side of the motorway, and the chain dangling from it seemed to go outside of the city, just barely.

"One second," I ran over to the crane and climbed up it, reaching the chain and started to descend it slowly, with everyne looking at me. "Come on, it's the only way out. I'm not too sure about the drop down, though." Eventually Cloud and Tifa went onto the chain and we descended it. I got to the bottom and noted the eight foot drop. I've had worse, so I let go of the chain and landed on my feet before falling onto my knees. I looked up to see Tifa and Cloud just dropping down, too, and Angie and Aerith coming down. Barret came last with Red clinging onto his back. Looks like I kinda forgot about how Red would get down.

"... Let's go," Cloud said as soon as everyone was down.

"Wait, shouldn't we have a leader? And where are we going, exactly?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head.

"I think Cloud should be the leader," Aerith stated with a smile. Well, I guess Cloud made a pretty good leader. He was a Soldier or whatever, so I guess he had the most leadership skill.

"We should go northwest to a town called Kalm," Barret stated. "We'll all meet up there."

"Meet up? We're splitting into groups?" I asked, just to check.

"Barret's right, we should split up for now incase Shinra are still after us," Cloud nodded. "We'll split into two groups. Aerith, go with Barret and Red XIII. Christie, Angel said she gave you the Cure Materia?" I raised my eyebrow and searched my pockets, pulling out a green orb. "We'll need someone to heal in each party."

"I'm no good with Magick," I admitted, remembering when I used Thundaja in the Moonflow seven years ago. I was never good with Magick, I don't even understand why Blade Magick was called Blade Magick, if anything it doesn't require much Magick. Not too sure about Aura though...

"Angel, you'll take the Materia," Angie nodded at Cloud's statement and took the Materia from me, merging it with her gun. I have no idea how to use Materia or whatever, I'll learn later.

"We're going to head to Kalm," Red said. "We'll meet at the inn, so whoever arrives first should check us in." We waved goodbye as Red, Barret and Aerith left to go to this Kalm. I just kept thinking of the Calm Lands whenever the town was mentioned.

But this watseland was gonna be anything but calm...

* * *

This ends the Shinra Arc of the story. Next is the Fugitive Arc, that will contain more conflict between Christie and Angie, a bit of character development and two new characters.

Hope you enjoy the next Arc!


	20. Unleashed Fury

Unleashed Fury

Tifa, Cloud, Angie and me were walking in silence across the watselands around Midgar. Cloud said they'd end around haflway through the trip to Kalm, and we had all day to get there. It was now almost noon or something and no one had said anything. Cloud had been keeping an eye on Angie, still mistrusting her, but now I think there was some sort of friendship fostering.

Yeah right.

Tifa hung around near Cloud, clearly uncomfortable with the silence hanging around the place. Angie wasn't saying anything, and I walked with my arms crossed, feeling an imaginary storm hang above me.

Then I just had to say it.

"So... a Cetra?" I asked venomously, snapping my head towards Angie, who halted and looked at me with wide eyes. Her scars, I had noticed, were no longer that glowing blue colour they were when we seen her in the President's office. They had reverted to the normal, three white lines down her face. I assumed that whenever she felt strong emotion they would glow blue, like what her eyes did whenever she had felt strong emotions like anger. "You're a Cetra, gee and here I was thinking you were just an Angel and a God." Guess she hadn't told that part to anyone else, as from the corner of my eye I could see the shock on Cloud and Tifa's faces.

"Christie, please don't-" I stormed up to her, cutting her off as she gazed at me, shock and terror in her eyes.

"Listen 'ere Angie, I've been pretty damn patient with ye for the past seven year, but apparantly that isn't long enough for ye tae trust me!" I snarled, realising my old accent slipping into my speech. "I thought I knew ye, but ever since this 'appened I don't even know who the fuck ye are!" Angie wasn't responding, so I just continued letting out my anger. "Because of ye I'm stuck in a place I know nothin' about, and I have a fucking chip in the back of my neck that stops me from using any sort of Blade Magick and now I find my 'best friend' is _still_ hiding stuff from me and I don't even know what the fuck she is!" Angie was backing away from me now, so I stepped forward and got closer to her. "And not only that, ye refuse to tell me anything that would make me understand why yer doin' all of this. I don't understand ye', Angie. Ye've done nothing but constantly throw me intae bigger messes that jist keep throwin' more and more questions in me face and never any answers! Ye said ye didnae wannae be alone, it's always about ye! It's always 'poor lil' Angie and 'er poor tragic past', which by the way, I know nothing about! Only recently I found out that Fina wis workin' wi' Shinra and made the damn chip!" There was an even thicker silence and I was using every fibre of my being to stop myself from ripping Angie to shreds.

"I..." Angie tried to speak and say something, but all I did was shake my head and turn away, prompting her to grap my wrist. "Christie, wait- ah!" I made my blade draw out and slice her hand. Iturned around and grabbed her wrist, her blood dripping onto my hand.

"Spira, Angie. You walked away and you left me," I reminded her bitterly. She had left me on more than one occassion. First after Sin was defeated, leaving me alone there, and after Vegnagun. All she said was 'thank you' and left for five years. "... Now I'm doing the same." I harshly threw down her wrist and turned away. I felt as though I should have said something else, but unfortunately Angie beat me to the punch.

"Please... Christie will you just listen?" I clenched my fists and made my blades withdraw before immediantly spinning around and punching Angie right in her left eye, making her collapse to the ground covering the spot where I punched her. She seemed shocked for a few moments as she looked up at me, but she stood up and took her hand away from her face, her expression changing to a calm one.

Without warning she quickly attempted to roundhouse kick me, which I ducked under and punched her in gut the stomach, making her reel back and take her staff out. I drew out my blades. She charged at me swinging her staff. I jumped over and brought my blades downwards, and her staf lifted up and reflected it. I tried to punch her face again but her staff kept blocking any of my attacks. As I tried to punch her jaw her staff collided with her staff again, both of us struggling for the upper hand, until I brought one hand down and blasted her with and Aura Orb.

Angie fell onto her back and then jumped to her feet, switching her staff for that new sword she had. Since I knew she wasn't good with it I felt like I had been given an advantage. She came at me with a downward slash. My own blades blocked her and I kicked her in the shins causing her to fall to her knees but quickly recover and swing her sword upwards. My reaction was to jump back and toss another Aura Orb at her. What shocked me was that her sword cut right through it, decimating the attack.

Growling with a glare, I ran towards her and threw a flurry of punches to her, Angie's sword blocked against them with a hint of clumsiness in her defense. I roundhouse kicked her before she could block and she fell again. It was a little odd. It was as though she was letting me beat her up. Eh, whatever...

When she got up she started to back away from me, her eyes focused and trying to study me in case I tried to attack. Eventually she was about twenty feet away from me, dropping her sword to the ground and summoning a fireball, letting it grow more and more until it was the size of a blitzball. She then projected it towards me like a flame thrower and I stood my ground, concentrating on something I hope would work.

As soon as it was two feet away from me I set up an Aura Net, catching the flames and making sure they didn't get past. When Angie stoped her attack she stood shocked as my Aura wrapped the fire into a massive sphere and I tossed it right back at her. In her shock Angie just stood and watched her attack backfire, and she crouched down, her head in her hands, and let the attack hit her, creating a shockwave that sent me flying back ten feet.

When I got up, I could see Angie through the thin mist of smoke the attack had made. Her sword in her hand and her legs shaking and her clothes covered in burn marks and her face covered in black soot and dirt. I stood up and clenched my fists, letting my Aura glow on them. Angie, sensing threat like an animal, let fire cover her arms and her eyes glow with anger.

"That's enough!" Cloud yelled at the both of us. We looked at him and our attacks faded, and I drew back my blades. "I don't know what's happened between you two, but stop fighting and sort it out later, we need to get to Kalm."

"Tch... fine," I walked towards Tifa and Cloud, leaving Angie behind. She sheathed her sword and slowly walked behind us, her head bowed and completely silent. We continued in silence, no one wanting to set off another fight or say the wrong thing, but I did keep hearing sniffs and coughs from behind me. I didn't give a shit about Angie right now. I don't understand how she can keep lying to me and be okay with it. She said I was her best friend...

Best friends don't lie to each other...


	21. Five Years Ago

Five Years Ago

It was about eight at night when we had finally reached Kalm. It was quite dark so the streetlamps had been lit and less people we about on the streets. A huge wall was surrounding the town, probably to keep the monsters we encountered out. As the four of us walked down the street, I noticed that this place was a lot different from what I had seen in Midgar. It was a lot more serene and nicer. It wasn't really like the Slums of Midgar, and I had never seen much of the Upper Plater or whatever.

So we all kept wandering around the town until we reached a central part of town. There were quite a few shops and pubs, so I guessed that an inn was nearby, too. I was assuming that their others would be at the inn if they had arrived before us.

"There's Aerith and Red!" Tifa pointed out, suddenly spotting the two standing outside a building, conversing with one another. The four of us appraoched them and Aerith looked up at us and smiled.

"You're all late," She joked with a smile, which faded as soon as she looked at me and Angie. "What happened to you two?"

"Long story, not important," I replied quickly before changing the subject. "Have we got rooms for the night?"

"Yeah, we were just waiting for you," Aerith nodded, and she pushed the door open, and Red quickly slipped inside and headed up to the rooms. Aerith walked up to the counter and smiled at the innkeeper. "That's our whole party here." The innkeeper looked up with a tired smile and handed her a key.

"Here is the key to your other room," He said pleasantly. Aerith gave him a thankful nod and motionedus to follow her up to the rooms.

* * *

The first room had four beds in it, and the other one had two in it, so I guessed Red would sleep on the ground since he was a... what was he?

I walked over to one of the beds and sat down on the end of it. Aerith and Tifa sat on one bed, Barret was already seated when we entered, and Red sat on the floor, as did Angie. Cloud remained standing, his posture straight and his arms crossed. It seemed as though he was taking this leader role seriously.

"Hey, now that everyone's here, why don't ya tell your story?" Barret suggested. "Ya know? The one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the Planet." Cloud sighed, thinking of a place to start.

"... When I was kid I wanted to be like Sephiroth, so I joined Soldier," Cloud began, looking down at the floor in thought. "I went on several missions with him, and we became friends."

"Ya call that a friend?" Barret scoffed. Cloud was quiet for a while before he shrugged.

"Well, he hardly talked about himself, and he was older than me..." He paused again, looking for the right words. "So I guess you could call him a war buddy. We trusted each other. Until... we went on a mission. After the war Soldier's duty was to opress any resistance against Shinra... it was five years ago... and I was sixteen. Our mission was to go to Nibelhiem, as the Reactor there was producing monsters and malfunctioning. We had to go there and neutralise it. On the way there, the truck was attacked by a monster, just outside of Nibelhiem, maybe a couple of miles away..."

"So when do you come in?" Aerith asked, leaning forward in interest.

"Me? I was too mesmerised by the way Sephiroth fought," Cloud shrugged. "His strength is unreal. He is far more powerful in reality than in any story you've heard about him," Everyone was quiet for a while. So this Sephiroth guy was a pretty strong bastard, then? We'd better be careful. "... and then we reached Nibelhiem... Sephiroth asked me how I felt to be back in my hometown after so long. He said he didn't have a hometown... and his mother's name was... Jenova."

"Jenova? He said his mother was Jenova?" Angie suddenly asked with a hint of shock in her voice.

"Ain't that the headless spook in the Shinra building?" Barret also questioned, making Tifa sigh and turn to them both.

"Guys, can you please listen to what Cloud has to say?" She asked firmly. "You can ask questions later." The two fell silent and Tifa then nodded to Cloud, who went on with his story.

"The morning after we arrived, Sephiroth hired a guide to take us to the Reactor," He had looked up and faced the martial artist of the group. "Tifa, you were the guide, and I remember your father saying he'd hunt us down if something happened to you," Tifa's eyes widened only slightly, but she nodded in agreement. "Another guy had asked for a photot of me, Tifa and Sephiroth, and he'd give us copies once it was developed. Anyway, when we were heading to the Reactor, the bridge we were going across collapsed, so we had to the long way up the mountian. Then... it was around halfway... we seen a Mako fountian... but that's not important..." We waved his hand dismissively as he talked and began to pace the room for a moment. "We got up to the Reactor... Tifa wasn't allowed in because of Shinra's secrets." We remained quiet as Cloud stopped, probably trying to remember what happened next. After five more minutes of silence, I shifted on the edge of the bed uneasily.

"... Eh... what 'appened next?" I asked. Cloud looked up at the ceiling and gave a sigh.

"... It's sort of a blur... I remember seeing... humans being exposed to high degrees of Mako, and that's what created the monsters, because Hojo had exposed them to it," Cloud answered faintly. "And... Jenova was there, too... then... I remember getting hit by... something... and people were talking... something about Jenova and Sephiroth's birth... someone deteriorating... I'm not too sure... next thing I knew Sephiroth was freaking out, asking himself if he was just like those monsters..." Wait, who was the other person in the Reactor? I though it was just Sephiroth and Cloud.

"So... what did Sephiroth do?" I pressed, wanting to find out where this story was going.

"He locked himself in the basement of Shinra Manor," Cloud explained, and from the corner of my eye I noticed Angie look down at the ground. "He stayed there for almost a week, reading every book there like he was possessed. And not once... did the light in the basement go out..." Cloud sighed again, as though he was preparing for the next part of the story. "Then... it happened... he started acting strange... I went to check on him and he started babbling about how Jenova was an Ancient, and how the Planet belonged to his Mother and him. That humans took Gaia away from the Cetra, and he was going to return it to his Mother... that the Jrnova Project was to achieve the goal of producing people with the powers of the Cetra, and he was the one produced... then he said... 'Out of my way. I'm going to see my Mother'..."

I had a really bad feeling of where this was going...

"When I got out of the Manor, the whole town was in flames," Cloud continued. "Sephiroth killed everyone in his path, burned down every building... I can still remember... the insanity in his eyes before he walked through the flames to the Reactor..." Whoa, just got deja vu there! "I followed him... and I found Tifa there... he had killed her father... Tifa... you then took Sephiroth's sword and tried to attack him... but he..."

"... I know..." Tifa responded quietly.

"I... followed Sephiroth to Jenova's Chambers. He was mumbling more nonsense about the Cetra and how Jenova would rule the Planet... he wasn't the Sephiroth I once knew... I was prepared to fight him... and..." I leaned forward in interest. I thought this would be a pretty epic battle. "... The rest is a blur... I can't remember. In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him... but why didn't he kill me or Tifa...?"

"Official records state that Sephiroth is dead... I read it in the newspaper," Tifa added.

"But Shinra owns those newspapers; you can't really rely on that information," Aerith pointed out. "But Jenova... how did it move away from the Shinra building?"

"First it was shipped from Nibelhiem to Midgar... then..." Cloud then went into thought. "... If Sephiroth is alive, then perhaps he is carrying Jenova."

"Erm, can I ask somethin'?" I raised my hand up like a small child in class, getting everyone's attention. This was bugging me, and I had to know. "This Sephiroth guy... silver hair? Green eyes? Slits for pupils?"

"... Yeah... why?" Cloud asked, head tilted to the side, eyebrow raised. I turned to Angie, who looked up, expecting the worse from me. The guy from my dream five years ago fits this story exactly...

"... That's Sephiroth?" I asked, standing up and advancing towards her. "I asked ye wit Jenova wis, and ye didnae tell me. Now I find out this?"

"... Christie... a couple of hours ago I just found out that I had been flung thirty years into the future," She told me, making me raise my eyebrow. "When I first left here, I was ten. Then the next thing I know is that I'm living thirty years in the future, Sephiroth has went mental, and every damn answer I need to know might not be there anymore."

"You know Sephiroth?" Cloud asked. Angie stood up and took a deep breath in.

"... When he was only a baby, yes," She nodded. "I lived in Nibelhiem for four years, before my Aunt died and... things happened..."

"Yeah, not that we'll ever know wit actually 'appened," I scoffed.

"I'm only learning things as I go, just like you," Angie defended.

"Yeah but unlike me, you also know things that could shift the balance of this bloody Planet!" I turned around and stormed out of the room, heading to the smaller room we booked. I took off my guantlets and closed the door, pressing my forehead against it. My eyes shifted down to something I hid under my weapons: the tattoo that I got five years ago... black ivy encircling my left wrist. It was a spur of the moment thing. Ivy... it was evergreen; it didn't change over the course of time... a reminder that I wouldn't ever change... I'm a total contrast to Angie... she always changes... I don't... even after all this I'm still as confused and uncertian as I was seven damn years ago.

Angie may have changed my life... but she's never changed me... I thought we were friends... I've listened to everything she's said when she tried to open up to me...

... Maybe I should try to listen to everything she doesn't say...

But I can't be friends with someone who doesn't trust me.

* * *

For those who remember, you'll recall Christie getting a tattoo in the early stages of Looking Glass. This is the same tattoo, and this was the only appropriate point in time I could fit it into the story.


	22. Broken Bridges

Broken Bridges

It was now half ten at night. I had showered myself and was clean of burns and dirt from... what Christie had done. Even so I still had a blackeye from her right hook, and currently had an icepack against it, as it was throbbing since she had incredible physical strength. I had agreed to share the smaller room with Christie, but I hated the atmosphere hanging around as I observed her drying her hair roughly with a towel, dressed in a satin sky blue night dress. She sat on the bed across from me and I continued to watch her through my one good eye. Christie suddenly stopped, carelessly tossing the towel to the ground and putting on the Looking Glass to look at me.

"... What?" She asked rather harshly. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just kept staring at her. "... That isn't gonnae dae anythin', you know?" I had noticed the black ivy tattoo on her left wrist, my left eye quickly glancing at it before looking at her again.

"That tattoo..." I said slowly. Christie looked at her wrist and shrugged.

"Yeah, I got it five years ago," She answered. "No one's really seen it... since my weapons hid it, you know?" I nodded, looking at the bed for a moment. "You know how ivy's evergreen? It's kinda 'cause I havenae changed... like ivy never dies in Autumn or Winter... it doesn't change."

"A bit like you..." We both looked away from each other and became silent. Christie then sighed quietly.

"Listen Angie... ye try to keep things to yerself because it isn't our problem. And I... kinda understand that you're not ready to say anything or whatever... but I can't be friends with someone who doesn't trust me," ... She thought I didn't trust her? "You threw me into a world I hardly know anything about, just when I was settled in Spira... I just think... we'll still travel together but... I don't think we should be on friendship terms... not until we're both ready..." I buried my head in my hands for a moment, feeling the chill of the icepack, before placing it on the bedside cabinet and headed for the door. "Wait, where're ya goin'?"

"Out," I answered bluntly and closed the door behind me, leaving the inn.

* * *

I had travelled through Kalm and looked around the streets. I honestly just needed to clear my head, I didn't want to think right now. I just needed to be alone. It was getting late at night, it was probably near eleven now. I made my way down the street to a bar not too far from the inn.

Inside the bar, a lot of the people were either drinking, smoking or playing darts or games of the sort. They were being quite loud with obnoxious laughter and singing. I kept my head down to avoid people looking at me, and made my way to an empty stool and sat on it, one hand holding my head up from exhaustion of the day. There were three people working at the bar, two men and a woman. The woman had her back to me, and she seemed to be cleaning a glass. One of the men at the other side of the barr glanced at me, then to the woman.

"Oi, Nev! Lassie at the bar jist came in!" He yelled in the native Kalm accent, a lot heavier than Christie's whenever she was mad, and her own accent was slightly similar to those from Kalm. The woman turned her head and gave him a nod before turning back.

"So, wit d'ya want?" She asked, her back still turned to me.

"Just... the strongest drink you have..." I muttered, loud enough for her to hear. I heard her chuckle slightly in response.

"Ye better be careful, lass," She told me, starting to turn to face me. "A lot o' the boys 'ere are usually down by the third-" When she looked at me she gasped loudly and dropped the glass, and it shattered on the ground by her feet. She stared, frozen, inable to move, and wide-eyed. No one paid any heed to the sudden shock. I took a moment to study her features as she stood immobilised. She had chestnut coloured hair that reached her shoulder and styled as a fethered flip, with her fringe covering her right eye slightly. Her eyes were a cerulean blue and she had a very pretty face, and she wore a black jumper and black trousers with black heeled shoes. She seemed to be a person fond of jewellery as she wore a silver chain necklace with a blue diamond pendant, silver teardrop earrings, a silver bracelet with a small apple charm on her right hand, and on her left ring finger was a white gold ring with a green diamond in it. What I found strange about her was that around her teeth was a thin metal wiring, something I hadn't really seen on a person before.

"Nev! You alrigh'?" The man approached her and she turned to him shaking her head frantically.

"Naw, it's nothin', am jist bein' daft," She replied. "Listen, am gonnae get some air then I'll come back an' clean up, righ'?" Not waiting for an answer, she turned around and dashed out of the bar. The man only stood and watched her go, before I stood and cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry, I must have scared her," I told the man.

"Naw, 's okay, Nevi's been like this for aboot five month noo," He told me.

"Still, I should go apologise," I said and left the bar to find the woman.

"Wit wis that all aboot?" I found the woman not too far from the bar, and she was pacing around talking to herself. "Am prob'ly goin' aff me 'ead, she couldnae be... naw, am definately aff me 'ead..."

"Um, are you alright?" She turned to me with a small gasp as I stood five feet away from her. She regained her posture and gave me a smile.

"Aye, am jist no feelin' mesel', ya ken?" I stood there like an idiot for a while. Sure Christie's slang was bad but at least I understood it as it wasn't terribly heavy and her time in Spira made it disappear almost completely. This woman... her accent definately showed she lived in Kalm all her life and she spoke too fast for my liking. Maybe other people from Kalm could understand her, but I certianly couldn't. ".. Ye no from aroun' 'ere?" I shook my head. This was the most awkawrd conversation I had ever had. "Aye, a lot 'e people cannae understaun oor accents. Bit anyway, ah should be gettin' back in, an' ah'll get ye yer drink," She walked right past me and then paused. "Erm... can ah ask ye somethin'?"

"... Sure," I raised my eyebrow as she turned to me, looking at my face and studying it.

"... Eh..." She then folded her arms and smiled. "Ya knae wit, ne'er mind," We remained silent for a long time, until she spke again. "Am Nevina... Nevina Sinclair." I raised my eyebrow, unsure of what to make of her. First she is utterly shocked by me, then she's introducing herself as though she can trust me? I was more confused than ever from her attitude.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked curiously.

"I dinnae ken... ah jist think ah can trust ye... fer some daft reason," It seemed as though she was hiding something, but I didn't press her for information. "Soory, ah better get goin', ye still wan' a drink?"

"No thanks... I've changed my mind," I hadn't really. Just the thought of going back into the bar with her made me feel uncomfortable. It was as though she was familiar with me and somehow knew me... and she was a total stranger to me.

Once she had went back to the bar I had turned off in another direction. The town was quite large, so there was probably at least one other bar in Kalm. And I wasn't planning to go back to the inn anytime soon...

* * *

And that is the first of the two character introduced. Unfortunately, Nevina will be a minor character in the story, but we'll see a bit more or her soon. So keep reading and reviewing!


	23. Through The Mountian Range

Through The Mountain Range

The next morning everyone was waiting for Christie and myself outside of the inn. I had a slight headache from last night, but did my best to ignore it. Each of them, minus Red for clear reasons, had a phone with them, and Cloud handed both of us one each.

"Tifa and Barret got these this morning. It's a PHS," He explained. "We've to use it should we ever get separated from each other." The PHS looked just like a normal phone, quite a cheap model but it was reliable looking. I put it in my pocket and nodded to Cloud.

"So... where're we headin' next?" Christie asked.

"Past Kalm there's a mountian range that we need to pass to get to the Mythril Mines," Tifa answered. "It'll take all day to reach there, but there's a small town that we can rest in before heading to the Mines."

"And we'll travelling together from now on," Cloud continued. "Shinra don't seem to be following us right now, and we'd be able to take them out together if we're ambushed by them." Christie and I nodded in agreement of the plan. "But if we're careful, we should be reaching Junon in about a week at least."

* * *

Before we had left Kalm, we had bought weapons and armour as well as new Materia. Christie had equipped herself with the Restore, Heal and Enemy Skill Materias. I thought it odd because I had the Restore last night, so she must have taken it, and she was more of a physical battler. Aerith was going to teach her to use Materia effectively. For myself, I had Earth and Poison Materia. The Earth was equipped to my staff, and the Poison was equipped to my sword. Aerith had gotten another Restore Materia for herself as well as a Heal and Fire Materia. Red already had a Fire and All Materia with him, and Cloud kept his Bolt and Ice Materia, and Barret and Tifa relied on their strength and didn't equip any Materia. They had gotten new weapons for themselves. After we were ready, we had went out of Kalm and towards the mountains that were in the far off distance.

At first the journey was quite quiet. There was the occasional battle with monsters in the fields but other that it wasn't too bad. While Christie was talking to Tifa and Aerith and laughing, creating a good friendship with them. Something I never had with her. Cloud and Barret had gone into conversation over the best route through the Mythril Mines, and how they would reach the next continent when we arrive at Junon. Red seemed perfectly content with keeping watch silently for any monsters.

As for myself I was too busy thinking about that... Nevina woman. I was so confused as to how she reacted towards me. It was as though she knew me somehow, but if I had been placed thirty years in the future, then there was no way I could have met her, and she didn't look any older than twenty-five. I didn't understand any of this... I was too confused over Oblivion's claim, Hojo's message of returning to Nibelhiem and my birth town, a place I didn't know, learning I've been put into the future, my Silver Materia-

Wait a moment...

Hojo still has my Silver Materia! I can't believe this! What am I going to do without it!? I had lost it for three years and I've lost it again because I put Christie in danger by giving her it to protect. Why am I such an idiot!? How was I going to get it back? Hojo was in Midgar and we weren't going to go back there any time soon!

I groaned quietly as my sudden panic made my head thump badly, as though my brain was swelling up and about to burst. Hissing, I tried to ignore the pain again and focused on catching up with the group, since I had fallen behind slightly. Red looked up at me, then ahead of him looking at the others.

"Miss Angel..." He started, making me turn to him.

"You can call me 'Angie', Red," I told him, not too fond of the formalities.

"Very well," He nodded. "As for my question... what made Christie and yourself turn against each other?" I turned away from him out of shame. I didn't want to talk about this but... I couldn't avoid anything for long... most of the time...

"I was... too untrusting of her..." I answered. It was true. No matter how much I told myself I trusted her, I really didn't trust her at all. It was my own fault, really, as I'm such a bloody idiot for not trusting my best friend because I'm so scared of... "But... we've formed a truce now... but we're no longer on speaking terms until... well... I can set my record straight, really."

"I see," Red nodded. "That doesn't really explain why Cloud has a dislike of you, however."

"That is a different story I don't totally understand," I sighed. "As far as I know, it is because I have a slight resemblance to Sephiroth."

"I had thought that... I had seen photographs of Sephiroth during my imprisonment in Shinra. You both have the same eyes, although yours are more blue, to be honest."

"I didn't think of myself to resemble Sephiroth," I admitted. "Then again... I only seen him as a baby... I have no idea what he looks like now... so maybe I would look like him." I looked ahead of me as I heard Christie burst into laughter as she conversed with Cloud, and she was soon joined by Tifa, Aerith and Barret. I had no idea what they were laughing at, but it was at Cloud's expense as he had went bright red in disbelief.

"Looks like Cloud's gotta new girlfriend!" Barret joked, making Red and I even more confused, but I think we were better off not knowing.

"And he treats me so well," Christie grinned, wrapping her arms around Cloud, who pushed her away and glared. "C'mon, it's only a joke!"

"Why me?" Cloud groaned, making the three laugh even more. "Ugh, let's just take a break here, we'll keep going in an hour." We put down all of our things and Tifa started to make a small fire to make lunch since she was the best cook out of the lot of us. Red lay down on the grass and scanned around the area. Aerith had went to help Tifa with the food while Christie was conversing with Cloud and Barret. I'm not too sure what about, but probably combat and what they were planning to do next. I guess from them she would learn more about Gaia.

But the chip she had mentioned before... Fina had made it? Why would she make a chip that would surpress her powers? Was she ashamed of them? She told me to be proud of who I was, and yet she... was making something that would hide who she was...

"Angel, what do you want?" Tifa asked as she was cooking by the small fire she and Aerith had made. I really didn't want to eat anything right now...

"No thanks... I'm not hungry," I told her, shaking my head.

"Are you sure?" Aerith asked. "I mean, you're nothing but skin and bones as far as I can see." Alright, she was right, I was simply nothing but skin and bones, but I really didn't want to eat anything... I would have probably regurgitated it anyway.

"I'm positive... I'm not hungry..." I answered. It took another five minutes for them to give up and accept my decision. I turned to Christie, who was staring at me, and she shook her head in disapproval of my actions. And while everyone ate I sat a distance from the group, taking up Red's role of keeping watch for monsters. It was reaching two in the afternoon when everyone had gotten ready and we started to head into the mountains, following a dirt path that would probably lead up into the town that was nearby.

* * *

"So, what is wrong with the Mines that Kalm 'ad tae stop working there?" Christie asked as we walked down the path. It was pretty linear in stucture, and away from any sort of danger. Unless we were run over by a passing truck.

"I heard that it was something to do with a massive snake like monster in the swamps that attacked anyone who tried to get to the mines," Tifa answered. "They named it the /Midgar Zolom', which is weird since it's no where near Midgar."

"Perhaps they exposed it to Mako and it mutated?" Aerith suggested. That was a possibility. After hearing what they done at Nibelhiem Reactor five years ago I wouldn't be all that surprised. "How will we get past it, though?"

"According to the map, there's a Chocobo Farm near the swamp, so we'll hire a few Chocobos to cross," Cloud explained. "But how about we worry about getting to Healin?"

"Is that the town's name?" Christie asked. "Sounds like a nice place."

"It's fairly quiet, and there's nothing of interest, that's why Shinra have kept away from it," Cloud explained. "Although since it's in a mountian I don't see why there isn't a Reactor there. The mountians are more abundant in Mako than fields and plains."

"And that's why there's a giant wasteland around Midgar? Because the Reactors have been sucking the life from Gaia?" Christie asked again. She was getting the hang of all of this, and I was quite proud of her.

"That's right," Barret nodded. "That's why Avalanche take the Reactors, to save the Planet."

"Now it will take more than a few bombs to save Gaia now that Sephiroth is in the picture," Red added matter-of-factly.

"Anyways, what's Healin's purpose if Shinra aren't there?" Christie asked.

"It's just a town that serves as a resting point for people travelling through," Barret told her. "Mostly for the Miners from Kalm or people travelling to Midgar. The town isn't that big, though."

* * *

By the time the sun was setting we arrived at Healin. Like Barret said it wasn't all that big. There were a couple of dozen houses scattered around the area, and a larger one just farther back, near the mountian side. As we walked up the dirt path, we looked at a sign that showed directions to Midgar, Kalm, Mythril Mines and the Chocobo Farm. The Mines and the Farm were in a different direction than Kalm and Midgar.

We ventured up the path as kids were playing on the road with a ball, and their parents calling on them to come inside. Some of the children looked at us as we passed, before the parents called them again and they ran off. The town was rather quiet, everyone going inside for dinner as it was getting late. Continuing up the road, we eventualy made it to an inn and went inside it. The receptionist looked at us, rather startled but calmed herself after a moment.

"Sorry 'bout that, there," She said. "We don't really get any passers by anymore after the Mines closed, so buisness has been pretty slow."

"Do you have a room for six people?" Cloud asked. The woman smiled and handed him two keys.

"The rooms have three beds each," She smiled. "That will be a hundred Gil." Cloud handed her the money and we headed up to our rooms. After agreeing Cloud, Barret and Tifa would be in one room, while Christie, Aerith and I were in the other, Cloud called a meeting in one of the rooms. We all sat on the beds as Cloud stood in front of us, his arms crossed and a stern expression across his face.

"Angel," I frowned when everyone's gazed came to me when he said my name. "What do you know about Sephiroth? What happened in Nibelhiem when you were younger?" I looked down, not wanting to answer the questions. I could only avoid their questions for so long...

"I... don't know exactly..." I muttered. "I remember when they researched Jenova... I felt sick everytime I was near the thing... I wandered around the manor a lot. But... once we reach Nibelhiem... I just need to have some closure before I can tell the story... I really am sorry."

"Just a question: how far are we from Nibelhiem?" Christie asked, looking to Cloud.

"It's on the next Continent, so we won't get there anytime soon," Cloud responded, making Christie roll her eyes and scoff.

"I'm holdin' ye to yer word," She told me. "But can you at least explain the fucking chip?"

"I have no idea why Fina made something to surpress her powers," I answered. "She was always proud of being a Collosus-"

"Sorry a wit?" Christie interjected.

"A Collosus; an ancient race that had a skeleton of a near indestructable metal and are able to control and manipulate all sorts of metals," I explained. "I know many people have come to know them as 'Blade Mages', but really there nothing Magickal about them. After the race died out, it became a sub-spieces, and a person with the traits of a Collosus are very rare to come by. Why Fina wanted to rid herself of that... I honestly have no idea." Christie stared at me quietly for what seemed to be forever.

"... And not once you bothered to tell me." She stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Everyone remained silent, their eyes on me as I stared at the floor, completely ashamed of myself. I didn't want to speak, but I didn't want to hide anything, either.

I felt alone without Christie, but I know what I'm doing is wrong...

I just want to get to Nibelhiem as soon as possible...

* * *

Sorry about the walking pace the sotry's going at, but in the next few chapters we'll be getting into some real action and story development.


	24. The Midgar Zolom

The Midgar Zolom

The next morning I got up earlier than usual and quickly got dressed and looked over to Angie, who was still asleep in the bed across from me. I had never really seen her sleep before, her brow was furrowed in confused concern and one arm was hanging off the bed. On her bedside cabinet there was an empty glass. I crouched down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly, waking her up and she groaned groggily and looked at me.

"C'mon, we're gonnae be leavin' soon," I told her, standing up and taking the glass, getting a sudden, unpleasantly scent from it that I reconised instantly. Angie sat up and looked at me, as though she was afriad that she was caught. "... Alcohol?" I tried to hide my surprise, I didn't know she drank. Wait... in Kalm when she went out was she drinking?

"Yes, but it wasn't a lot," She told me. I didn't believe her. I couldn't exactly trust her after all of this. "Okay, so I drink a little, so do you, I bet." I raised my eyebrow, then set the glass down and folded my arms.

"... Alright, your choice," I shrugged and turned around to head for the door. I really couldn't stop her from drinking, so why go on about it? "Better get ready, I really want to get to Nibelhiem."

Fifteen minutes later Angie was down the stairs, her head down and avoiding eye contact with all of us. She should really get over herself. We left the inn and walked down the main dirt path that lead out of Healin. We didn't bother getting anything, I think we were running low on Gil anyway after buying all that stuff from Kalm, but we'd be okay since the new armour and weapons we had would still hold out, and hopefully last until we could get better armour in Junon or... whatever the place was called.

* * *

Healin was around the middle of the mountians, and we still had a long way to go before reaching the Chocobo Farm, so we had to survive the entire day on about three hours sleep. I wasn't exactly used to such quick paced travelling. I mean, Yuna's Pilgrimage was less extreme than this, as least we got regular sleeping hours and still managed to save the world. Besides, I wasn't too sure on this Sephiroth guy. Just exactly how powerful was he anyway? I don't really know much about what Shinra do to genetically modify humans but I'm really interested to see how much of a challenge he'll be.

We went down the empty road that lead through the valley, and I was practicing using the Materia I had. I didn't have any spells to cast with the Enemy Skills, mainly since I wasn't sure what skills I could use, so I resorted to playing about with the Heal and Restore Materia. I had managed to draw out a small green orb when using the Heal Materia, and had it floating above my hands for a little while. I didn't know what to do with it, so I looked at Aerith, who was watching me and gave a small nod of approval, then to Tifa, and I tossed the small orb at her, making her stumble at look at me with confusion.

"What? I'm just havin' a little fun," I grinned. Cloud looked at me and shook his head.

"Don't use too much Magick, we might need it," He said.

"Fine, grumpy," I pouted. "I thought you loved it when I did that." Cloud rolled his eyes and kept walking ahead with Barret. Yeah that was actually a good idea saying Cloud was my boyfriend at the Wall Market; it gives us a good laugh amongst the serious atmosphere. I turned around to see Angie talking to Red, so I turned back around and jogged up to Aerith and Tifa.

"So, this Chocobo Farm," I started off. "How much would it be to hire the Chocobos?"

"I'm not too sure," Tifa responded. "I've never been to a Chocobo Farm before, but if they cost too much Gil then we'd probably have to catch a couple of Chocobos to cross the swamp."

"I thought you were gonnae say we should just nick them," I laughed, causing Aerith and Tifa to laugh along with me. "I sure hope Cloud thinks of a way to get us off this continent and to the next one."

"Have you never been outside of Midgar?" Aerith asked. Oh... well, never really been to Gaia before so...

"Nah, not really," I waved it off. "I'd like to see a lot, but at the same time I know I can't stop to sight-see because of Shinra and Sephiroth." As we kept travelling, I had noticed how unphased I was by yesterday's revelation of me being a Collosus. I mean, I was pretty pissed at first, but now I wasn't too bothered about it. I guess after everything that's happened it didn't really effect me as much as it would have seven years ago.

* * *

A couple of hours into the afternoon we reached the Chocobo Farm. There were four, maybe five, Chocobos out in a large pen as we approached the Farm. The Chocobos were so cute, I went up to the pen and a Chocobo approached me, so I scratched it just at the back of its head. I remember a couple of years ago being told that Chocobos liked being scratched there and made them calm. It kweh-ed in delight and I smiled. I've always loved Chocobos. Tifa and Cloud came up to me as I backed away from the Chocobo.

"I guess you like Chocobos?" Cloud asked.

"Well, yeah, who doesn't?" I smiled. I glanced back at the Chocobo and then to Cloud, then the Chocobo went to Cloud and nuzzled his arm, making both Tifa and I burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" He asked, narrowing his eyes and moving away from the pen.

"Y-your hair... looks like a Chocobo!" Tifa gasped out between laughs. I laughed even more, which made Cloud glare at us and walk away. I guess 'Choco' was his new nickname now. Poor him, always getting harrassed by us girls. After we had calmed down we both followed the rest of the group to the Chocobo stable, where a young boy and a girl were looking after the Chocobos.

"Waddaya mean we can't hire any Chocobos?" Barret exclaimed as we joined up with the others.

"All the Chocobos out there are reserved fer Gold Saucer racers," The boy replied. "Sorry, but I can't 'elp ya."

"What about this one?" Angie asked, standing beside a Chocobo with black feathers. She was petting it as she talked and the boy came up to her and looked at the Chocobo.

"Some red 'ead fella told me ta keep it fer 'is niece," He said. Hmm, red haired man, niece, black Chocobo. Where have I seen this before? "Said 'is niece migh' pass through 'ere and to keep it fer 'er."

"May I ask the name of the man?" Angie asked, still petting the Chocobo.

"Said 'is name was 'Oblivion Fury' or something."

"Oblivion Furanio?" Angie corrected in question. I remember Oblivion's black Chocobo. I had seen him once: when we were heading down the Mi'hen Highroad and weren't allowed to go to the Mushroom Rock Road because of Operation Mi'hen. Then Oblivion, riding the Chocobo, and Seymour showed up.

"That's the guy!" The boy said, snapping his fingers. "Then, are you the niece?"

"I am," Angie nodded. The boy then took out a key and unlocked the pen, and the girl helped by putting reins on the Chocobo. "Come on, Zero." So Oblivion named his Chocobo Zero?

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" I chimed in as Angie held Zero's reins.

"Well, there's this Materia," The boy held out a purple Materia in his hand. "It can lure Chocobos to ya; make catchin' 'em easier, but I won't give it to ya without an exchange."

"How much are we talkin'?" I asked, knowing he wanted Gil.

"'Bout two thousand," He shrugged, as though we were loaded with Gil and it would be nothing. I reamined silent, before turning my back to him and looking at the others.

"How much do we have?" I asked. Aerith searched for our Gil and proceeded to count it. After a few minutes, she looked up with a frown on her face.

"We've only got over a thousand Gil..." She answered sadly. I guess our old weapons and armour weren't worth much...

"Then sorry, I can't give this to ya," The boy shrugged again, putting the Materia away and silently showing us the way out. Angie walked behind us with Zero as we passed the pen.

"Great, we're gonna spend all day chasin' after birds like idiots," I groaned.

"Or if looked to more practical scenario," Angie began, speaking up with confidence around her. "We could use Zero and make several trips across the marsh. It wouldn't really take long, given into account black Chocobos are naturally faster than yellow ones, and Oblivion did take a lot of care of Zero."

"... That's not a bad idea," Cloud nodded. "You sure he won't run off at any point?"

"Positive, if Oblivion told Zero to obey me temporarily he will; Zero trusts me," Angie nodded, petting the Chocobo all the while. "While Zero taking two of us to the marsh the rest of us should stay here so Zero knows where to go to get the rest of us."

* * *

For the next few hours we spent waiting on either side of the swamp while Zero darted back and forth to get the remainder of us. The marsh was pretty damn big, but we'd be going through the Mines right now if we had enough money to get that damn Materia. After the last of the group arrived Angie told the Chocobo to return to the Farm and we went on our way. There was a bit of a distance between the marsh and the caves, and we started to walk faster when we heard thunder off in the distance. I'd rather be stuck in the mines before the rain starts.

Then, as we turned around the corner of a large wall of rock, we saw it...

"Holy shit..." I muttered, looking up at the sight. Hanging thirty foot above us was, what I guessed, the Midgar Zolom impaled on a bear tree like a head on a pike. Blood streamed down the trunk and made a pond around it.

"What the fuck happened here?" Barret asked, looking at us for answers.

"That boy had mentioned that a man cloaked in black had passed through the marsh without a Chocobo..." Red answered. He did? I must've not been there when he said it.

"Sephiroth..." Cloud's fists clenched in anger, while the rest of us looked at the monster in fear and amazement.

"Our enemy... can do this...?" Aerith asked, clasping her hands over her mouth. I eventually regained my posture and walked past it cautiously, as though I was worried it would spring to life and eat me.

"Look, we're not gonna get anywhere staring at this thing," I stated and turned to them. "C'mon, we need to get to Junon."


	25. The Turks Revisited

The Turks Revisited

Right, so the Mines were... well, kinda cool looking. The Mythril was incredibly shiny and it made the mines look like mirrors or polished metal. We were all still trying to shake off that Midgar Zolom encounter. Okay, it was a massive, supposedly powerful snake that Sephiroth popped off and showed off by sticking it on a tree. Big deal. When fighting that Chocobo Eater seven years ago it was 'strong' but we kicked its ass. I'm sorry but after everything I've been through this Sephiroth guy, despite how interested I am in challenging him, will have to do a lot better than that to put the fear of God into me.

"Right, so we should just keep going until he reach the other side of the mine?" I asked, hands behind my head. With a few nods in response we all headed deeper into the caves. It wasn't really much of a maze, which went against my mental image of how I thought this place would be, it was really quite linear. We had passed a few mine carts along the way, all filled with Mythril. If I could use my Magnetism right now I bet I could make a couple of good weapons.

We continued to make our way through the Mines, and we were quiet due to the fact that we couldn't really find an interesting topic of discussion, and I think that Midgar Zolom image was still fresh in everyone's heads. Even so, he kept going onwards, but soon halted abruptly when we heard footsteps from a distance. Immediantly we whipped out our weapons and froze, but ready to knock the shit out of whatever was coming.

After a few more seconds we were met with a man, as my Aura Sight was now dipicting more than just outlines of people I could see in detail who he was. A tall bald man with sunglasses and he wore a suit. I noted that he must have been in the Turks. Come to think of it I think I've seen him before.

"... Turks, right?" Cloud asked after a long silence.

"... Then this won't take long," Ah! I know now! He's Rude! I reconised his voice from when I was kidnapped. "You see... the Turks..." There was a long silence. Gee, if he was going to talk he could have took some time to make a speech.

"Sir!" All of a sudden a young woman with short blonde hair arrived, and beside her was Cissnei. "I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it."

"Then, Elena, explain," Rude nodded, gesturing to us. By this time I had stood up straight, but ready to act if they tried something.

"I'm Elena, the newest member of the Turks," The blonde explained. "After what you did to Reno, we're short on people."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," I said, although not sincerly, well I didn't think it came out sincerly. I did kinda feel bad about it, but he's the enemy, so... damn it stop thinking so much!

"Uhh, anyway, that's why I got promoted to the Turks," Elena explained, clearly unsure of what to say. "In any case, we've been ordered to stop you while we are pursuing Sephiroth," Why would Shinra need Sephiroth? Promised Land or whatever? "But... that's the wrong way around... they're the ones getting in the way." Clearly Cissnei and Rude were ashamed of currently being associated with her, as she was currently making the Turks look like idiots.

"Elena, you talk too much," Another Turk, who I reconised as Tseng, arrived and shook his head, making the other three straighten up. Talk about leadership qualities, shake your head and your underlings shapen up in a heartbeat. "There is no need to tell them of our plans."

"Aplogies, sir," Elena bowed her head for a moment.

"Now, go, and don't forget to file your report," He said and turned to Cissnei. "I believe you know your orders, as well. The helicopter is waiting."

"Sir!" Cissnei saluted and ran off. I wonder where she's ordered to go. Eh, whatever.

"Sir, we'll be heading for Junon now," Elena told Tseng, making the remaining two shake their heads, and Elena, realising her mistake, clasped a hand over her mouth. With that, she left and Rude turned to us.

"... We'd like to let you know that once his injuries have healed, Reno would like to see you and show his affection to you all... with a new weapon," Rude warned. Oh, don't like the sound of that. Once Rude left, Tseng faced us and noted we were all still poised for an attack. Instead of fighting, he looked to Aerith and nodded.

"Good to see you are well," He nodded. Aerith frowned and folded her arms.

"No thanks to you," She replied. After a moment, Tseng nodded again.

"I hope we meet each other again," Then he turned and left. Honestly you could cut the awkward atmosphere with a knife just there! We took a moment to regroup and put away our weapons.

"Great! Those Shinra bastards are still after us!" Barret groaned.

"We'll have to be careful once we reach Junon," Tifa stated.

* * *

So after a bit more travelling, we came out of the other side of the Mines. There were a lot of forest areas, so we'd probably have to pass through them to get to Junon. So our group went on our merry way into the forest. No problems to speak of. It was still an early day, we actually grabed a Materia in the Mines at one point, I managed to get one or two Enemy Skills for my Materia, so if we were lucky we could make it to Junon by nightfall.

Of course there's always a downside...

"Does anyone have a feeling that we're being watched?" Red asked. Yeah, to be truthfull, I felt that something or something was following us.

"It could be Shinra, stay on your guard," Cloud ordered. We started to walk through the forest more slowly, weapons out and Materia ready to knock out anything that tried to attack. We heard a branch snap and we all turned to the direction it came from. Nothing, false alarm. We continued on our way until we heard a bush rustle. This time a massive spinning shuriken was flung out and I jumped to the ground to avoid it. A person dropped down from a tree and darted around us, caught their weapon and ran off. I jumped up and remained confused for a moment, until I seen Angie run off after her, gun drawn.

"... What just happened?" I asked.

"Our Materia was stolen!" Aerith exclaimed. I drew my weapon and went in pursuit of Angie and the thief. This person was going to pay! ... But why would they need to steal our Materia?


	26. The Great Ninja

The Great Ninja

So we had found ourselves chasing Angie, who was chasing the thief who had stolen our Materia for reasons unknown. The thief was jumping onto braches, over fallen trees and dodging Angie's bullets as we tried to catch up. Red had gotten further ahead and was closing in on the thief, Tifa was on par with Angie, Cloud was just behind them, but was being weighed down by that massive sword, and Barret was running alongside him, and I was slightly ahead of them with Aerith behind us a little.

Eventually the thief halted and tossed their weapon at us. We ducked under it again and Red leapt at the thief, who jumped up onto a tree branch and caught their weapon. I blasted the branch with Aura but the thief had already jumped off and was running again.

We started chasing them again and Angie had put away her gun and was flinging fireballs at them and trying to block their path. She managed to knock down a few trees that the thief jumped over and into a large clearing. Red got in front of the thief and they halted and backed away from Red, who was growling, teeth bared, and about to pounce.

Immediantly the thief tried the weapon flinging again, but Tifa caught the weapon and flung it right back at her, when the thief just grabbed it Cloud swung his sword and they blocked it and jumped back. Angie took out her sword and tried to swing it as well, but eventually it became a game of hit and block. Red leapt from behind and made the thief scream. After that, I ran in, grabbed her and tossed the thief over my shoulder. They landed flat on their back and their weapon rolled off several feet away from them. I looked down and stared at the thief: it was a girl, a teenager, with short black hair and dark brown eyes. The rest of the group circled around her as she regained her senses and sat up, groaning with a hand on her forehead.

"Man... I can't believe I lost..." She looked up, and the glared at us, jumping over us all and grabbing her weapon. "You jerks! Let's go again! One more time!" We all stared at her in silence for a while. I think she must have banged her head.

"No," Cloud eventually said, keeping a straight face.

"What the matter?" The girl said, narrowing her eyes. "Ya thinkin' of runnin' away? Stay and fight!" Yeah, she's banged her head pretty badly, either that or she's naturally cocky. "C'mon, I bet you're pretty scared of me, huh?"

"You're just going to lose again," Angie stated, making the girl even more angry.

"What!?" She exclaimed, glaring at Angie. "I will _not_ lose! I am the Single White Rose of Wutai! The greatest ninja Gaia has ever seen! I will not lose to you... you... jerks!" We were taken aback by her outburst. So she was a Wutai Ninja? ... Where or what is Wutai?

"Listen, can you please just return our Materia?" Aerith asked in a gentle tone. The girl glowered and huffed.

"Hmph! I guess you're too scared to fight for it, what with my great skills and all," She took out a bag and tossed it to us. "Maybe if we meet again, we can go for another round," She started to walk away, then turned around, as if she wanted us to let her stay. "I'm gonna leave. _Really_!" Cloud took the bag of Materia and then turned around.

"... Let's go," We all then followed Cloud as he handed us all our Materia back. When I turned back around the girl wasn't there. I was still confused as to why she nicked our Materia, but we've got it back so no need to worry.

* * *

"That was probably the weirdest thing that's happened to us," I stated as we walked through another part of the forest. Cloud had said that once we get through here we wouldn't be that far from Junon.

"Who cares? The brat's gone now," Barret stated. We kept going through the forests for another half an hour until we heard a screech, a branch break and a thud on the ground. We all turned around to see the ninja girl emerge from the bushes, twigs and leaves in her hair, stumbling and clutching her forehead.

"This isn't my day..." She mumbled, then looked up at us, as though surprised we were there. "Hey! You again! You change your mind about that fight?"

"Are you following us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhh..." The girl looked about as though looking for an answer. "... Uh... if anything you're all following me!"

"... No, you're following us," Cloud deadpanned. "Why? We're not going to give you our Materia, and we're busy."

"Doing what?" She asked. "Maybe I can help? I _am_ the greatest ninja of Wutai, you know." If you're the best I'd hate to see the worst.

"... We're looking for Sephiroth," Cloud said blankly. The girl's face drained of colour and an anger ignited in her eyes.

"Let me join you!" We were surprised at her exclaimation. Before we could ask why, she kept going on. "He ruined Wutai! Him and those idiots from Shinra! If you're gonna fight him I wanna show him what Wutai's warriors are really made of!" We had a moment of silence, then our leader spoke up.

"Wait a second," He then turned around and we all huddled together in a small meeting. "What do you think? Should we let her join?"

"I'd say you're totally bonkers for letting her join," Angie immediantly protested. "She just stole our Materia not even an hour ago, imagine what she could if she is part of the group."

"Yeah, but she does have talent," I admitted. "And if she is part of the group, then we can keep an eye on her, rather than her following us and taking our Materia out of spite."

"Cloud, what do you think?" Tifa asked, turning to our, what I believe was our unofficial leader but everyone just quietly decided on it and never bothered to notify him on his new posistion.

"... Well, she does have a reason for wanting to help us," Cloud said. "... And she does have some fighting skill..." All of a sudden, the girl popped up behind us and grinned.

"So, am I in or what?" Well, I'll give her points on being sneaky.

"... Yeah, you're in," Cloud nodded. I noticed Angie roll her eyes in disgust. C'mon, maybe the girl's nicer once you get past the Materia theft part. "Let's hurry on." We all turned around and the girl lagged behind for a few minutes. For crying out loud was she joining or not?

"Hey! Wait! You don't even know my name!" She cried, trying to catch up with us. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi! Good to meetcha!" At this point I had decided to annoy Cloud again for a couple of laughs.

"Oh, Cloud, out of the kindness in your heart you let her join," I then wrapped my arms around him, which made Barret, Aerith and Tifa start to snigger. "I'm so proud of you, this is the reason why I fell for you!" Cloud then groaned and pushed me away, trying to ignore the others as he went ahead and led us to Junon.


	27. Down Under Junon

Down Under Junon

"This is Junon?" I asked, not very impressed with what I was seeing. From afar, the place looked really cool, and a bit scary because of the cannon thing sticking out of it, but when we reached it... well... it looked like the Midgar slums.

"It's so run down..." Aerith commented. Cloud looked about for a few moments before turning to everyone.

"Christie, Red, Yuffie, see if you can find an inn anywhere around here," He said. The three of us nodded and we split from the main group. Maybe they'd find an inn in another area of the town.

We wandered through the place for a while, seeing nothing but houses and the occasional shop, and a few broken down buildings, too. Yuffie started to whine because she was getting bored and tired, but I tolerated her since she was a teenager, but that really is no excuse.

"Christie, may I ask you something?" Red looked up at me, and I looked down at him. I nodded and smiled, allowing him to ask a question. "How long have you known Angie?"

"Erm... seven years..." I said quietly. "But she's being really stupid and awkward, so I'm only speaking to her when I need to."

"I've been talking to her, and I feel as though I have met her before," I looked back down at Red and raised my eyebrow. "There's something awafully familiar about her, and she did mention about being projected forward in time."

"Well, it could be possible," I shrugged doubtfully. "Maybe I'll ask her. She hardly tells me anything, though, so I don't think I'll get an answer."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Red replied. Well, she hasn't given me reasons. "You shouldn't pressure her into forcing out answers, I seen how panicked she felt at Healin. Perhaps a more gentle approach would get you somewhere?"

"Hmm, I'll give it a go," I nodded. We turned around to see Yuffie about to wander off. "Yuffie! We have to stick together!" I yelled, and she ran up to us.

"Well, you two were getting boring," She huffed. "And I don't know what you're going on about, I don't know anybody, remember?"

"You can learn about us while we're travelling," I shrugged again, then heard a ringing sound. I took out my PHS and answered it. "Hello?"

_"It's Cloud," _Cloud, obviously, stated bluntly over the phone.

"Figured that by the caller ID," I replied. "No luck finding an inn so far, how 'bout you?"

_"We saved a little girl from drowning a while ago, and her grandparents have offered an old house for us to stay in. Tifa and Barret will be waiting outside for you," _Cloud explained without pausing. He didn't even allow me to ask for detials.

"Right, be there as soon as," I hung up and looked to Red and Yuffie. "Guys, we've got a place, let's go."

* * *

That night, after everyone had been healed of any injury from the fight they had been in, we had all grabbed a place to sleep. It was late and everyone was asleep apart from me, and I kinda hoped Angie was awake, too. She would always either be out like a light, or never sleep at all. I got out of bed and walked out to the living area, where Angie was sleeping on the couch and Red was asleep by the fireplace. Angie had her head resting on the arm of the couch and her eyes were closed. I went closer to her and stroked back some of her hair. Her eyes opened and she looked about for a moment before looking up at me.

"... Are we leaving?" She asked. I quietly shook my head and sat on the other end of the couch. I was doing my best to supress my current anger towards her, but I kept in mind what Red had told me. Angie sat up and looked at me, then away from me. "Then what is it?" I kept silent, until I managed to verbalise my question.

"What did they do to you?" I asked gently. Angie looked at me with a scared expression and her eyes welling up. I continued, still talking softly and not raising my voice. "The Superiors... what did they do to you? You can tell me anything..." She continued staring at me. "You said I was your best friend. Best friends don't tell each others secrets." Angie kept silent for ages. Then she pulled away from me and started to remove her top. "Ehh, Angie?" Once she had taken her top off, she turned around and showed me two massive scars on her shoulder blades, and if I'm correct, that's where her wings were when they were out. I had only seen Angie's wings once, I can hardly remember what they look like.

"They... they ripped out my wings..." Angie choked out. I reached out and traced my finger over one of her scars, making her hiss quietly. "They did more than imprison me. They took out my wings... and tortured me... they erased my memories..."

"They did that?" I asked, suddenly shocked. "You mean...?"

"I can't remember much. I still remember my earlier childhood... Oblivion... Fina... but they took away my ability to speak... I couldn't remember how to talk... use my powers... fight..." Angie took a deep breath in, hating how she was remembering this. "They tried to get rid of my sanity... locking me in complete darkness. I... felt safe, though... I... remembered you and Oblivion... and everything came flooding back to me. Who I was... who I am... what the Superiors wanted me to be..." And she never told me... she has to tell me these things. I want to help her kill the Superiors.

"So you only remember... your childhood?" I asked. She was only twenty, a year younger than me, she should remember...

"... My first memory came to me as a dream... when I was six, and in Nibelheim," She explained. "After that, I tried to remember every event after that... it all came back to me instantly... after I watched that Sphere... and when Oblivion told me... he was alive..." I still didn't know who this 'he' was, but if he was important to Angie... "I have to get to Nibelheim... I have to know what Sephiroth became... what Hojo did... what Fina did... I need to know the truth..."

"That makes two of us," I smiled. "Angie... I know I'm probably gonna get really pissed at ya when we get to Nibelheim, but I'm your friend and I... I'll stand by you every step of the way... just don't push me away when you know you can trust me..." Angie put her top back on and she looked at me. She looked more calm than before... she actually smiled. I haven't seen her smile in a long time... I smiled back at her.

"... You'll hate who I am when we get to Nibelheim," She told me. "... I only hope you'll like who I will be..." I didn't understand what she meant, but I had a feeling it would definately change my opinion of her. If it's for the better or worse... who can really say? I put my hand over my necklace, then looked down at it in surprise. It wasn't the Silver Materia, it was that white apple necklace I bought in the Wall Market.

"Angie... where's the Silver Materia?" I asked.

"Hojo has it..." Hojo? That crazy scientist guy? "I need to get it back... I need to know what it does..."

"And you can keep it," I told her. "It's yours, ain't it? We found it, but it's yours, not mine."

"Alright, I'll hold onto it this time," She smiled at me for a moment, then it faded. "If it's too powerful... I'm going to destroy it."

"I think you'll need to ask Oblivion about that," I told her. "He obviously knows more about this than both of us put together. He knows pretty much everything right now... and I know we'll catch up with him at one point... I mean, he always seems to show up, doesn't he?" I stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay. I promise the Superiors won't hurt you. Oblivion trusted me to look after you, right?" Seriously, if he didn't think I could, he wouldn't have made me... well... part of her life. Plus, she's like my sister. "Even with a tomorrow without promises, I will return to the place where you stand..." Yeah, Loveless. The only line I knew. I had wanted to read it, but I have yet to see a copy of the play.

"... Right," Angie nodded. I smiled again and turned away. At least I'd be able to sleep tonight without being bothered by all the questions I had. Sure, I had a lot more, but I've got enough answers to keep me going until Nibelheim.

* * *

This will probably be the last chapter until Christmas, so Merry Christmas everybody!


	28. The Presidential Ceremony

The Presidential Ceremony

"Is it just me or is everyone else ready to kill whoever is playing that music!?" I groaned. The music had been playing for ages and it was starting to get on my nerves. It was really loud, even though it wasn't playing in the lower part of Junon. Our party had gathered by the beach to sort out out plans. The girl they others had saved yesterday, Priscilla, had recovered and was explaining to us what was going on.

"I heard that the new President of Shinra is here for his induction ceremony," She explained. Great, Shinra are here. Just what we need. "The parade is on the upper part of Junon, but Shinra have blocked any elevators going up there until the ceremony's over."

"How do we get up there?" Aerith asked. We all started to think, then Priscilla clapped her hands with a plan.

"I know! The tower over there leads up to the planes and stuff, but it's really dangerous," She explained. I think we all know who was going up...

"Nice knowing ya, Cloud," I patted him on the back as he looked at us all in horror. "C'mon, once you get up there give us a ring and tell us the plan."

"... But-"

"Sorry, ye got no say in this," I grinned as we all nodded and sent him off to do leader work.

* * *

"That was a bit cruel," Tifa said as we went back up into the town.

"Well, someone's gotta do it, and Cloud's leader," I shrugged. "Plus, that should be no problem for a former 1st Class Soldier, right?" I looked about the group, then beyond to see two Shinra soldiers by a large metal gateway. "Still, we shouldn't just wait about, we need to get up ourselves, in case Cloud can't get us up..." I observed the soldiers, trying to think of a way to distract them. All I've got is my Aura and-... Wait, Seymour controlled Lysander using my Aura, so why can't I? "Wait here guys, I've got a plan."

"You're more a leader than Cloud," Angie smiled, crossing her arms. Eh, I try. I got closer to the two soldiers, hiding behind a stack of crates and peering over them. Occasionally they would swap sides and remain still, like two mechanical dolls. I focused on the soldier to the left and my hands glowed as I tried to control his mind. Seymour had said it would only work on those with a weaker mind than mine. After a few more minutes the soldier's head glowed with my Aura. I wasn't too sure how to control him, but if my memory was correct Seymour didn't have to move to make Lysander do his bidding, even though all he did was point a gun to our heads.

With that thought I had accidentally made the soldier point his gun to the other soldier's head, making the other yell at him in fright and anger. So that was it! My thoughts control him! I made the soldier fire and kill the soldier, before making him kill himself. I signalled the others to follow me and we got to the gate. I searched the bodies and found a keycard, probably to make the gates open. Going over to the slot I swiped the card and the doors opened.

"How did you know to do that?" Red asked, amazed at my leap to immediate action. I looked to Angie, and she just looked back at me, giving me a nod.

"I've been in this kind of situation before," I replied, going over to the control panel and swiping the card again. "Twice, really. After saving the world you kinda just gain an intuition for working with what you've got, and how to manipulate the enemy. Sort of like improvisation. And trust me when I say I'm making this up as I go, but the good thing is..." I pressed a button and the elevator began to go upwards. "That when you're stuck, you'll have friends who are on the same wavelength as you, so if I don't know what to do..." I laughed and looked at them all. "I think if we travel long enough we'll be able to stop Shinra and Sephiroth without a definate plan. Maybe a skeleton of a plan, but the structure is made up as we go along."

"Well, that's just great," Yuffie said, stretching and feigning interest in my sudden speech. You know, I was quite surprised I came up with that. "So, if your making this up as ya go, what do we do now?" The elevator stopped and it opened into a long hallway. Thankfully, it was empty and there was a door to the side. I peeked through it to see a large dock of sorts for aircrafts. I took everyone out to it and we gaped in wonder as we found a massive Airship. Seriously, this thing was bigger than the Celsius! I haven't been on an Airship in ages, I wonder if we'd be using that to get off the continent...

"Imagine flying in that!" Aerith gasped. Yeah, it would be pretty cool to be on that. I heard my PHS ring and I picked it up.

"'Ello, 'ello?" I answered. At first I didn't get an answer, but I heard a lot of noise in the background.

_"Christie, where are you and the others?"_ Cloud asked. His voice sounded a bit muffled.

"Air docks, what about you?" I asked back.

_"I had to disguise myself as a Shinra soldier, so I'll have to be in the parade,"_ He explained. _"I heard that Rufus in taking a cargo ship to Costa Del Sol. I don't think I'll be able to get you guys on, though."_

"Right, back up a moment," I actually made a gesture to stop while I talked. "Dressed as a Shinra soldier?"

_"Yeah, your point?"_ Cloud had no idea where I was going with this.

"Look, I won't waste your time, go into the parade, and keep the uniform on. We'll meet you on the boat," I hung up and put the phone away. "Right, I've got a plan: Cloud's currently dressed as a Shinra soldier, so we're gonna join him."

"What?" Yuffie asked.

"Trust me, I know where I'm going with this. We'll have to disguise ourselves if we want to get on the cargo ship," I explained. This was our only option, and our only chance to pass right under Shinra's nose and get ahead of them.

"How will I be able to pass, exactly?" Red piped up. Oh... didn't think of that.

"Why not walk on your hind legs?" Angie suggested.

"Yeah, that could actually work," Tifa nodded. "But with all of the army in the parade, how will we get uniforms?"

"We sit, and we wait," I took everyone to piles of crates that we hid behind. It was a few hours until the ceremony ended, and then that was when we put the plan into action.


	29. Lullaby

Lullaby

Christie's plan had worked better than we had expected. We had gotten onto the boat without any suspicion and now all we had to do was wait until we reached Costa Del Sol. Cloud was surprised at Christie's ability to organise us to get us onto the boat, but she's always been a natural leader. She gave leadership back to Cloud once we met up with him, even though we couldn't do much otherwise we'd be caught.

"How's everyone?" I asked, looking to Cloud. We were leaning against the edge of the boat, since we were on our break.

"Yuffie's feeling sick," Cloud responded. So our ninja is motion sick? "Aerith's with her, Tifa, Christie and Red are on duty and Barret's looking for Rufus but I warned him not to do anything to impulsive," I sighed and nodded. I hated these uniforms. They were too stiff. What material was this made out of. "What do you know about Sephiroth?" I knew this would come up.

"I told you before, once we reach Nibelheim I'll explain everything," I told him firmly. "My past is my priority right now."

"What if it's a key part in stopping Shinra and Sephiroth?" Cloud was very persistant, it was actually a little annoying. He didn't understand that when I didn't want to talk about something, I didn't want to talk about it, end of discussion.

"Listen here," I turned to him with a glare underneath the helmet I was wearing. "I understand that you know Sephiroth wants the Promised Land for his Mother, but what I know will definately not be important in stopping him. I played no major part in his life, I've already told you I seen him as a baby, but that was it. How could seeing him as an infant a few times hold any influence to his motives now?" Cloud just looked at me, then gave me a nod.

"Fine, I'll let you sort out your past," He told me. "I don't like it though, so until we get to Nibelheim-"

"You won't trust me, I understand," I nodded back. "But tell me this: Do you trust Christie?"

"... Yeah. She's definately a leader, and a good ally, and Tifa tells me she's very honest. Annoying, but honest," He folded his arms over his chest and looked up at the sky. "So, I trust her."

"... Good. You'd be an idiot not to," I informed him. Christie was definately a good person to fight alongside, and she didn't hold anything back. She was bleeding honest and always spoke her mind. Got her into trouble most of the time, but she always knew what she was doing.

"You said you were a Cetra, right?" Cloud changed the subject, looking back at me again.

"Yes, on my mother's side," I replied. "My aunt was also a Cetra, but only half, like Aerith. I don't really know about my Cetra powers, I never really knew how to use them. I know I can speak with the Planet, and I have healing powers but I never learned how to use them..." I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "Aerith's been offering to help me learn how to use my Cetra powers... but I know that fact, and my past links to Shinra, will make me a target..."

"Past?" I nodded at Cloud's question. A soldier walked towards us and folded their arms.

"Hey guys," It was Tifa, I could tell by her voice. "They told me it's my break now, so you two better get to work."

"Do you know how long until we reach Costa Del Sol?" Cloud asked.

"They said that we'd reach it in the morning," Tifa responded.

* * *

It was nightfall when we were all allowed off our duties. We could either go to sleep or patrol the boat. All of Avalanche had decided to patrol the boat, even though we were all exhausted. The night seemed to drag on no matter what we did to pass the time.

"Guys, I think I'm gonna be sick again," Yuffie whined before running inside to be sick. After that, everything seemed to go on as normal, until an hour later the alarms started to go off.

_"Warning! There has been an intruder spotted on board! All soldiers begin search immediantly!"_ The alarm continued to repeat itself as our group ran to the one spot and Cloud counted us all.

"... We're all here..." He said after counting.

"Then, if we're all here... then who's...?" Aerith asked before realising we only had one answer.

"Sephiroth," Cloud growled. "Okay, everyone spread out and look for him. Yuffie, Red, Aerith, you're in one group. Tifa and Barret, you'll be together. Angel, Christie, with me." He took off his helmet and looked at us all. "I don't think we'll be needing these anymore."

"Thank you so much!" Christie and Yuffie said in unison. We all reverted back into our normal attire before setting off in our designated groups. I walked alongside Cloud and raised my eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't trust me," I said to him.

"Exactly, so I'm keeping my eye on you," He answered back. "We'll go down to the cargo hold." We went inside the boat and down the stairs. The alarms was still flashing, but what was odd was that there were no soldiers around. We looked about for anyone, namely Sephiroth, but so far we had no luck.

We heard a noise come from behind the crates and immediantly drew our weapons. Cloud stepped forward with his sword and approached the crates slowly. Without warning a Shinra soldier leapt out from behind a crate and tossed his gun at Cloud, hitting him in the side of the head. Cloud reacted by trying to slice the soldier in two, but he jumped over Cloud and sweep kicking him before sprinting away from him. Christie ran to him and performed a slide kick, but the man got back when Christie did, and she tried to give him a right hook, but the man grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder.

The man then ran away from the two and I fired bullets at him. He skidded to a halt and pulled out... war fans? Since when did Shinra soldiers use war fans? Never-the-less the man blocked my bullets and backed away from me. I put my gun away and shot out a stream of fire at him while Christie and Cloud got behind him. He then pulled out a trick none of us were expecting: He stopped the fire by completely freezing it with a mist of frost and then dove behind more crates a distance away from us while we were stunned.

Cloud cast a Bolt spell at the crate the soldier had hidden behind and Christie was preparing an Aura Blast. I loaded my gun and activated my Poison Materia. But just when we were about to attack him, he jumped up and held his hands up.

"Truce!" He yelled. We all stopped our attacks and looked at him. "I won't attack you if you don't attack me, I swear!" He took his war fans and placed them on the ground and stepped in front of them, still keeping his hands within sight.

"How can we trust ye?" Christie asked, her arm blades not retracting. The man pulled off his helmet to reveal his face. He was young, quite good looking, and he had pure white hair that fell just past his shoulders and bangs that fell over his eyes slightly, his eyes were a bright purple colour. He smiled and put his helmet down.

"You might not trust me, but I'm hoping you trust the person who sent me," He was sent by someone? Who?

"Who sent you?" I asked, lowering my gun and placing it in my holster.

"You should know him: Oblivion Furanio," The man answered, his voice turning serious. Christie and I looked at each other before turning back to him. "He told me to find you two, and not to let you out of my sight."

"We don't need a bodyguard," Christie stated, finally becoming less hostile by putting her weapons away. Cloud stepped forward and looked at the man.

"Are you going to help us?" He asked. The man smiled and picked up his war fans.

"Yes, I am," He smiled. "My name is Omen Confleo. I don't expect you to trust me, but that's fine. I'm just doing my job." Omen? That was a weird name. But still... if he's telling the truth, that he was sent by Oblivion... then I do trust him. But I can't show it just yet, I'll wait until he can gain the trust of the others.

* * *

"Why would Oblivion send a bodyguard?" Christie asked Omen as we started to look for Sephiroth again.

"He just told me to look after you both, gave me background information on you both and everything," Omen explained. So he knows all about us? "And... well, yeah Oblivion told me to... he said it would help us all."

"Didn't explain anything?" Christie asked, still suspicious of him.

"There's a little more, but this isn't the time to explain it," Omen looked around the cargo area before taking a look around a corner. "I think I seen something head into the engine room a while ago." We followed Omen into the engine room. There was blood trailing across the ground and walls and pools of it around dead soldiers. It remained me too much of the Shinra building.

"Well, someone likes to leave a mess," Christie muttered. Cloud went deeper into the room with the three of us following him. Eventually we founda tall man wearing a black cloak and weilding a seven foot long katana. Silver bangs concealed his face as he turned slightly to us. This... was the man who killed the former President of Shinra. This was... this was Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled, drawing his sword and preparing to attack. Sephiroth quickly turned and batted Cloud's sword away with his own. Omen jumped back and hid while Christie drew her weapons and leapt towards Sephiroth, but Sephiroth grabbed her by the neck and threw her back, making her collide with pipes and breaking them. I started to back away, and out of nowhere I had to duck under a massive shuriken that Sephiroth blocked and sent flying towards me. The other had arrived and were ready to fight, but Cloud had gotten up and put a hand out to keep us back.

"C'mon! Why can't we kick his butt?" Yuffie asked, grabbing her shuriken and ready to throw it again. Sephiroth raised his head and my eyes widened in shock. His eyes... almost exactly like my own... the others were right...

"... Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, raising his sword and pointing it at us.

"Sephiroth! It's me! Cloud!" Cloud yelled, glaring at him all the while. I drew out my sword and stepped forward, as though I was in a trance...

"Cloud..." Sephiroth mumbled. His attention snapped to me when I lightly touched his sword with my own, lowering it staring right at him. "... Lullaby?" I froze at the word. He... just called me Lullaby? Then... oh no...

"What?" I whispered in question, but Sephiroth raised his sword and swung it at me, knocking me into the wall and dropping my sword. He looked at it for a moment, then he started to wald to the others.

"The time... has come..." He then disappeared and we all remained still. I was breathing heavily out of shock, unsure of how to take this. Sephiroth... reconised me? How is that possible? How could he remember me if he was a only a baby? His eyes... I don't understand how they were almost exactly like my own... great... just what I need... more questions...

"Ugh... dammit!" We heard Christie from afar as she approached us. "I didn't even get a chance! Where is he!?"

"Gone," Omen got up from behind the crates he was behind and joined the group. "That's why I hid: Sephiroth shouldn't be taken lightly. That wasn't even him _trying_," He looked at Christie's head, which was bleeding. "Here, hold still." He held his hand over the wound and a light blue haze emerged, sealing the cut and healing it completely. Everyone looked at him with a sense of shock.

"That wasn't Cure Materia, was it?" Cloud asked, looking blankly at Omen.

"No, and it wasn't Cetra Magick, either," He smiled, then looked at the rest of the group. "Sorry, I should introduce myself: I am Omen Confleo, your new recruit, if you don't mind." I got up and picked up my sword, feeling ill as I got closer to the spot where Sephiroth was standing.

"Angel," Cloud looked at me with a glare in his eyes. "You said you had done nothing to influence him."

"I didn't!" I defended. All of them were looking at me suspiciously. "I swear I only sang it once to him and he was three months old! How was I supposed to know he would be able to remember?"

"Wait, what did you sing?" Aerith asked, stepping closer to me before immediantly backing away. "What... what happened?"

"You feel it too?" I asked. Aerith gave me a nod before both of us feel to our knees. Yuffie screamed as we looked to see something writhing about the floor. Wait... wasn't that...

"Holy Alice Marie!" Omen yelled and blasted out a stream of ice, freezing the tentacle thing and then he smashed it. After that Aerith and I stood up.

"Jenova," Cloud muttered. "But... how did it only affect you and Aerith?"

"It must be a Cetra thing," I shrugged. "Everytime I'm near Jenova, I feel ill and want to be sick and faint. At the same time... I want to... I feel as though I want to kill..."

"... Tell us about the song," Tifa asked quietly, walking towards me.

"It's just a lullaby I remember from when I was young... my Mother sang it to me... and so did Fina..." I told them. "I sang it to Sephiroth, but only once... because he was crying..."

"Hey guys, lay off her, will ya?" Omen suddenly said, standing beside me. Was he standing up for me? "I know she's a bit off, but everything's gonna be pieced together soon enough, okay? No one ever gets the full story if its forceably removed." Everyone seemed a little thrown off by Omen's actions. He just kept a smile on his face.

"Ugh, there are too many feckin' questions!" Christie exclaimed suddenly. "You know what? How about we deal with this at Costa Del Sol? Alright!? I'm sick of all the feckin' questions and every answer _leads_ to more questions!" At that point, we had decided to hide in the engine room until we reached the shore. But at that point I had immediantly began to trust Omen, because he said 'Alice Marie'. I only knew one race who used that phrase. One race that Oblivion trusted greatly with his life.

* * *

Finally finished the Fugitive Arc, and now we'll be moving onto the Past Life Arc. The Past Life Arc will, obviously, revolve around the pasts of the characters, and reveal a few truths along the way. Review and let me know what you all think.


	30. Uncertainty

Uncertainty

"Aye, that new President's quite a looker, ye ken?" Mary commented as we chatted 'bout the ceremony that 'appened in Junon. "Really blonde, tae, I like the blondes."

"We know, Mary," Alex, my other mate, grinned and took a look at the newspaper. "I 'ear Shinra's got a new goal tae try an' stop the bloody monsters roaming aboot the place, dinnae ken 'ow they're gonnae go aboot daein that."

"Jist leave it, then," I said, taking the newspaper and readin' it. There was a small paragraph aboot those Avalanche fellas.

_As well as starting a new project to bring monster attacks to a minimum, the new President has announced that he has begun a search for Avalanche, a terrorist organisation stationed in Midgar, as they are prime suspects for the murder of the late President Shinra. Rufus Shinra was gravely saddened by the loss of his father, and is doing everything in his power to bring the criminals responsable to justice. He wishes cooperation from the public to catch those in Avalanche, as they have fled from Midgar and are currently on the run._

_Although Avalanche is small, their members are extremely dangerous. Their leader, former Corel resident Barret Wallace, led the attacks on the Shinra Reactors with succession and could posisbly be planning more attacks on Reactors across the globe, and to escape the Shinra he and an accomplice, Tifa Lockhart, owner of the 7th Heaven pub in Sector 7, brought down the said Sector's plate to evade capture. The other members include former 1st Class Soldier, Cloud Strife and a woman only known as 'Angie' by inside sources, as well as a woman who does not appear on any Shinra data base, and goes under the name of 'Christie Wilson', further invesigations on this woman are going underway. During time spent in custody, they broke out, kidnapping an experimental speicimen that goes under the name of 'Red XIII', and a young woman from the Sector 5 Slums, Aerith Gainsborough. If you should see these characters, President Rufus Shinra requests that you infrom local members of the Shinra Army._

"Load of rubbish," I scoffed and threw down the newpaper. "There are no 1st Class Soldiers called 'Cloud' or 'Angie'."

"And 'ow would you know?" Mary asked. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Hey, Alex, wisn't that Angel lassie in the pub a couple of nights back?"

"Aye, the one that gave Nevi a fright?" Alex asked and looked at me. "Remember that one? What was so scary 'bout her?"

"She jist startled me, that's all there is tae it," I said. Like they would believe the truth. They believe every feckin' lie Shinra puts out. I bet Avalanche didnae even kill the President. They jist someone tae blame.

"Right, no need tae get defensive, right?" Mary sighed and got up. "Any of ye workin' tonight?"

"It's my day aff," I replied. "Alex's yer workin', ain't ye?"

"Aye, 'ow 'bout ye swing by?" I shook my head in response.

"Got plans, sorry," I tried to give a smile, but I could tell it was a weak one.

"Wi' that fiannce of yers?" Mary questioned, indicatin' tae my ring. "'ow long 'as it been? Five month or somethin'?"

"Look, 'e said he'd be back, 'e jist dinnae know when," I felt meself gettin' dead defensive now. If they go on the whole lecture 'bout 'maybe he ran aff wi' someone else' then I'd knock intae next Tuesday. Instead of hearing the same feckin' lecture I get one every two weeks, I got up and left them at the table.

That lassie... I'm actually cannae believe she's... well firstly real but... she's alive... too? This isnae... this cannae be right. He goes... and then she arrives five months later? Maybe... what if she does know about... no... they've never met before...

"Nevina?" I turned around and spotted a woman in a Turk uniform. I sighed and looked at her.

"Cissnei," I nodded in greeting. "Wit dae ya want?" It wasn't attractive when I talked in Kalm slang. I could cut it down but I'd still slip back intae Kalm talk.

"Have you heard about what's happened at Shinra?" She asked.

"Aye... but I've got nothin' to dae with it," I told her, hoping she'd piss off.

"And... I've had orders to bring you to Shinra, to speak with President Rufus," I scoffed and narrowed my eyes at her.

"I've got no buisness wi' any of yer bosses," I said firmly.

"Nevina, listen to me and no one will be hurt-"

"No one'll be hurt? Last time ye said that, ye killed me Dad," I snarled. "Wit ye gonnae dae if I don't go? Kill me?"

"... Nevina, if you'll only listen to me-"

"No! I'm sick of listening tae ye!" I yelled. "Everytime I do, ye know wit happens? Ye take everythin' and everyone I love away from me!" I turned around and began to storm away, but Cissnei ran in front of me and brought out her weapon.

"I didn't want to do this, Nevina, but if you won't cooperate, I'll have to take you by force!" I backed away from her and clenched my fists.

"... Why do ya want me?" I asked, still keeping hostile in case I did have to get intae a scuff with 'er. "You know how I feel 'bout Shinra after wit happened five months ago. Remember in Gongaga? Remember that? You remember wit I said tae both you an' Hollander? If this is about him then I'll never tell ye anythin'."

"This isn't about him, Nevina," Cissnei narrowed her eyes and glared. "Why do you even wear that ring? You know he marched off to his death." She hit a nerve there, I was ready tae punch her lights out.

"Shut it ye worthless cow," I growled, feeling more and more agitated. I didn't like 'er. Never did. She was always annoying. "Jist... I've got nothin' tae do wi' this... leave me alone... Shinra's done enough tae me."

"I can't let you go," She stepped forward, closing the distance between us. I knew what she was gonnae do. This has happened before. "I was ordered to."

"I thought ye wanted tae be free of Shinra?" I asked, hitting a nerve and Cissnei leapt towards me. I had tae duck down and sprint away. I wasn't gonnae fight. I didn't want tae. She was after me, though, and she chased me through the streets trying to grab me, but adreniline kicked in and I was off like a bullet from a gun.

* * *

About half an hour intae the chase I had ended up in an alleyway, running tae an empty building and clambering up the stairs tae the rooftops. I think I lost her. My chest was heavin' and I sat down trying tae catch my breath. I really wasn't used tae running from folk, but I couldn't really fight, either.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you escape," I groaned as I stood up tae see Cissnei with her weapon still out. "Shinra needs you. It's for your own good, too."

"My own good is tae keep away from you dogs," I snapped back. I turned my back and tried tae run again but I was still out of breath and hadn't gotten a lot of air back.

"Nevina! Loveless is happening!" I stopped and froze. I didn't expect her tae say _that_. I turned tae her slowly. I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. "... Hojo resigned not too long ago... but he told Tseng to tell us that Loveless was happening... we need to know what he meant... and we... we know you'd know..." Loveless? How could I know what was happening? ... Okay, I know about Loveless but I have no idea what she was talking about. "Please come to Shinra... we need your help." I looked at her with a firey glare in my eyes. It had hit me. I knew what she meant.

"No." I threw my arm out to the side and she went flying to the side because of Telekinetic energy. I ran and leapt off the roof tae get away from her, but by the time I landed I stumbled and twisted my leg. I hissed and rubbed my leg in pain. That was gonnae hurt for days. I couldn't keep goin' like this... but I wasn't gonnae have Shinra use me.

* * *

Please note that Nevina, and everyone in Kalm, have the equivilent of Scottish accents. Some are heavy, some are not. Just keep that in mind if I forget to use Scottish slang outside of Nevina's dialogue. Nevina's accent is quite heavy, since she's lived in Kalm all her life.


	31. Common Goal

Common Goal

As soon as we reached the coast of Costa Del Sol we had darted off the ship and escaped to an inn on the far side of the town. We rented rooms for tonight so today we could rest after our shock and also get to know Omen better. He had befriended Aerith, Tifa and Yuffie easily, but Christie and the men hadn't warmed up to him yet.

"So where are ya from?" Christie asked. We were outside just by the beach area. I didn't like the place. It was far too hot for me. Omen wasn't in that Shinra uniform anymore. He was only wearing grey jeans and black boots. He said that if it wasn't too hot he would be wearing a white button up shirt, a long full length white trench coat and purple gloves.

"I've been living in Rcoket Town for seven years," Omen answered casually, keeping eye contact with Christie to show his sincerity. "It's over the mountians of Mt Nibel, and I've been learning a bit of engineering from a man called Cid Highwind, but we just call him the Cap-"

"I meant before that," Christie interrupted with a raised eyebrow. "You know Oblivion, so you must be something from beyond the regular. You can heal people and use ice Magick without any assistance what-so-ever, so I think my question should have been 'what are you'?" Omen turned his head to me and I looked back at him.

"Clever one, isn't she?" He smirked and looked back to Christie. "I'm from a race known as the Phantoms, we are servants to the God of Death, and have been since the Dawn of Time. My family line has been incredibly loyal to the Death Gods and have become well aquainted with the family, and as such I know Oblivion quite well and hold him in high regard," Omen was very open with all of this information. This may have been his way of subtly telling her she can trust him as he'll tell her all he knows...

Ironic how she trusts me when I don't tell her anything...

"Phantoms?" Christie asked. "Are all Phantoms... albino cryomancers?" Omen laughed and pushed up the half moon glasses on his nose.

"Nope, Phantoms look like normal people in general," He answered. "I was just born albino. Anyway, back to my story: Oblivion trusted me with the task of keeping an eye on his niece and her friend, who I am assuming is you, to help you both... find the truth or something along those lines."

"That's it?" Christie continued to question, her arms crossed and unconvinced. " No strings attatched? No secretive personal motive? No past we should be aware of that might put us in deep shit that could have been prevented if you trust told us your secrets?" That was clear implication towards me, so I looked down at the ground in guilt.

"Hahaha, you really are a clever girl, Chris," I looked up and face Christie. No one had ever called her Chris before. Christie wasn't too impressed with the nickname she was christened with. "But you caught me, Oblivion made me do this to benfit me as well, but not for purposes you'd assume..." He turned around and looked out to the ocean. He's cheerful attitude now fading into a solemn frown. "Oblivion told me... that if I helped him... I'd find my sister."

"Your sister?" I asked. Omen nodded, but he didn't face either of us.

"It was when we were younger... it was so long ago but I still remember it; it's my nightmare. Phantoms can live for millenia, just to let you know," He turned to Christie with that note, as she didn't know about a Phantom's lifespan. Omen must have been hundred of years old, then. "She was kidnapped by Demons... I don't know why. I know she's alive... Oblivion told me, and he's Death so he would know. I just want to find my sister and bring her home."

"Your... sister..." Christie murmered. "Is she... younger than you?"

"Kinda... she's my twin. Younger than me by five minutes but taller by five inches," Omen replied with a smile. "We always used to say that. Her name's Ghost. She was so nice, we never fought with each other. She was my best friend... and I'm her brother, I swore I'd protect her." I looked at Christie, who was clearly contemplating something but kept her mouth shut. Her gaze then went to the sands of the beach.

"Hey... isn't that the guy from Shinra?" Both Omen and I looked down and spotted a man-... I growled and vaulted over the wall and landed on the beach, storming my way towards the man.

"Hojo!" I yelled, making him turn to me with a smirk.

"Well, if it isn't little Angie," He said as I narrowed my eyes at him. "What brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I snapped back. Omen and Christie had joined me and stood by my side. Hojo looked at Omen and then back at me.

"I see your freakshow has expanded," He smirked. "I wonder how many freaks will join you to take down Shinra?"

"I don't care about Shinra," I replied sternly, trying to keep my calm. "The only buisness I have is with you."

"Really? Then I suppose your buisness is about your Materia?" Hojo smirked, but I just growled at him. This man really knew how to push my buttons.

"... Christie, Omen," I began, focusing on Hojo. "Get Cloud and Aerith."

"Why?" Christie asked, I snapped my head to her and glared.

"Just do it!" I snapped at her, making her flinch and glower at me. She then scoffed and dragged Omen away with her. When they were out of hearing range I turned back to Hojo. "Right, tell me what Shinra's up to and why do they want Sephiroth. And what was with calling me 'Rhapsodos'?"

"Do you not go by that name anymore?" Hojo asked with curiosity, but I didn't answer him. "I'll have you know that I resigned from Shinra."

"Fine, then answer me this: About my mother... are you telling the truth that I have a younger sibling?" I asked. Ever since he told me it had been plaguing my thoughts and was always in the back of my head.

"Of course I was telling the truth. Why, I had nearly mistaken you for him when you arrived in the labs," Him? So I have a brother? "I'm sure you've passed through Kalm, tell me how Nevina's doing."

"... What do you know about her? What's her part in all of this?" I asked. Nevina... that woman from the pub. How was she linked to this brother of mine?

"Hmph, so you've met her," Hojo smirked again. "She has a deeper link to you than you know. Shame you can't go back and ask," Damn. I frowned and looked at the ground. "Now, about your scars. I couldn't help but notice that they only began to glow along with your eyes when you felt intense emotion, such as anger. I found Fina's records of you fascinating: A Cetra who holds high amounts of Mako within her bloodstream, and can survive without being completely mutilated by Jenova's cells."

... What?

"Fina's records?" I snarled. What was he planning? How dare he say Fina treated me like an experiment!? "Jenova cells? Fina would never do that to me!" IMy voice rose as I was ready to cleave him in two with my blade.

"Which is precisely why I suggested you return to Nibelheim: To learn the truth behind that beloved Aunt of yours," I snarled at him as he tried to hurt me. I didn't believe him... there was no way... "I believe the Cetra blood you have came from your mother's side, so after seeing him, and now you, I see that the only downside of Fina and Hollander's experiments was Degeneration. Or has that not happened to you yet?" Degeneration? I think... seven years ago... in Spira...

"... I don't believe you," I said, looking away from him. Christie and Omen had come back with Cloud and Aerith. I had nothing to say anymore. I didn't know if he was lying or not...

"Hojo?" Aerith asked.

"Oh, the other Cetra," Hojo smirked.

"I have a name: It's Aerith," Aerith replied with narrowed eyes. "I need to ask you something... Sephiroth, Jenova, me and Angel... are we all connected? Is Jenova really a Cetra?" Hojo's smirk immediantly shattered as Aerith asked her questions. I never knew why it did. I guess I never will. He started mumbling under his breath, and we couldn't hear him. "You're hiding something! Tell us!"

"Aerith, calm down," Cloud said. Aerith just looked at him with disbelief. "He's not worth it. He wouldn't tell us anything anyway. Let's go. We'll find Sephiroth on our own." We all turned away and began to walk to the inn.

"Angie," We all looked around as Hojo brought out something. My Materia... "I believe you will need this if you are looking for answers." I walked over to him and took the Silver Materia, staring at it and then clutching it in my hand.

"... No tricks?" I asked, frightened by his actions.

"Of course not," Hojo replied. "I believe that we both have a common goal. And I suggest you head West... but you already know that, don't you?" I glowered at him before turning and storming away.


	32. Dependance

Dependance

The night we spent at Costa Del Sol was kinda weird. Angie had disappeared when everyone fell asleep, but I was still awake. I couldn't sleep. Didn't know why. I just couldn't.

I groaned and sat up on my bed. It was past midnight and it was dark outside. Omen was sitting on the bed across from me, staring out of the window.

"Can't sleep?" I asked. He jumped and looked to me, holding a hand over his heart.

"Gave me a scare," He smiled. "Not really. Neither can Angie, I'm assuming. She went out to the town a few hours ago," I nodded. It figured. She was so distant. "Hey, Oblivion told me that you two were close, but you both seem at wit's end with one another... what's up with that?"

"Overtime our relationship has been strained. Mostly fault on her part," I scoffed. "She tells me nothing: She patiently deals with conversations and then leaves at the first oppertunity when she talks to me."

"Well, you are pretty blunt," Omen shrugged. I gave him an angry glare. "What? You are, like today when you were asking what I was. It's rather intimidating if you ask me," I just gave a grunt in response, which in turn made Omen sigh. "Very mature, Chris. This how your conversations with Angie go all the time?"

"Shut it, you're don't know us well enough," I growled and got up. I hadn't changed out of my clothes yet, I just put my boots back on and walked to the door.

"Going to find her? Gee, underneath all of that anger and dramatics you really do have a soft spot for her. Oblivion was right," Omen chuckled as I rolled my eyes. "Hey, wait I'm coming, too."

"Just keep your mouth shut, I don't exactly trust you, ya know," I scowled and kept going. We left the inn to the fairly empty and cold streets, but that was going to make it easier to find her.

"You know, Oblivion didn't ever mention you being permentantly in PMS mode," Omen said as we left the inn. I just glared at him and he simply shrugged. "Proved my point, right there," I rolled my eyes. I wasn't too fond of this guy. "Hey, what exactly is with the immediate hatred towards me? If I remember correctly you trusted Angie and those other friends when you met them."

"That was different," I stopped and turned to him and he halted, but remained calm and unintimidated. "I was fourteen, and they were allies of allies, so I knew I could trust them and we all shared a common goal."

"But I also share a common goal with you," Omen argued calmly. "We both want to protect Angie, and we want to stop Gaia from going down the drainpipe. Look, Chris, I'm not asking you to trust me. Oblivion said I wouldn't get it for a long time. I was told to keep an eye on his niece, and I want to find my sister, I don't want anything else. I want to find answers, just like you," He sighed and walked past me, putting a hand on my shoulder for a moment. "I don't need to explain myself to you. That's your problem; you try and make everyone explain themselves to you. You're much more clever than that, you can figure things out for yourself." He then started to walk away to a bar. I followed him and grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Pubs always house useful information when looking for people," Omen deduced logically. "Plus it's one of the only places open right now." Eh, he had a point. We entered the pub and looked around the place. It was sort of half empty and full of drunks. Omen slipped off to the side, probably to find Angie, so I went towards the bar to ask.

You know what? Didn't even have to. As soon as I had gotten to the bar I noticed she was right there, an empty glass in her hand.

"Holy shit you aren't the Angie I know," I muttered. Angie turned to me, her eyelids were heavy and her eyes were clouded. She had a clear expression of shame on her face and she looked away from me. "Angie, I've seen you in worse states..." I sat beside her and tried to look at her face, but she kept turning away. "How much have you had?"

"More than usual chicks can handle," The bartender piped in as he took Angie's empty glass from her. "You a friend? You better take her home, we're closing soon." I nodded as he walked away to clear up, Angie had now put her head on the table and wrapped her arms around it. Great, was she drunk? If I knew what she was like drunk, I could probably handle her. So far I think she's a highly depressive drunk.

"What 'appened to ya?" I asked, half glancing around looking for Omen. I'd need his help getting her back to the inn.

"It... just happened..." Angie muttered.

"Things like this don't 'just happen'... we've been through too much to think that," I told her.

"Fine... when I was hiding... when I was seventeen..." Angie began, raising her head up. "I dunno... I guess it's mostly stress... stress got to me... I just needed to get away from it... I drink if I'm stressed... or if I'm depressed... like when you shouted at me and didn't want to be my friend..." I actually was a little worried about drunken Angie. She talked differently, constantly repeated herself and was on the verge of tears. But she talked more loosely; she actually revealed things that were getting to her. Still... it was too out of character for me. "And... Hojo... when he gave back the Silver Materia... I just got scared... Hojo scares me... I'm scared of him... and I feel as though I'm going through this all on my own because I don't want to be a burden to anyone... I just want to go home..." Home? I looked around for Omen, but I still couldn't find him.

"Angie... where's home? What's at home?" I asked gently.

"Nibelheim... has my past... Fina... Oblivion... Fina worked at Shinra on the Jenova Project... I didn't want her to do it... but she injected herself with Jenova Cells... but she's a Cetra, and her baby was a Cetra... and the Cells killed her baby..." I was really taken aback by that. I knew that Fina had been pregnant before she died, and her child didn't survive... but in an experiment of her own doing? And she was a Cetra, too. "Hojo said she experimented on me too... I tell myself it's a lie... but I'm scared in case he's telling the truth."

"... Does Oblivion know any of this?" I asked. If he did I swear I'd kill him.

"No," Angie simply put it. "He was against the experiments... I don't know how Fina could have experimented on me... I would have remembered..." At this point Omen had arrived and he had his hand on Angie's back, rubbing it slowly.

"C'mon, we should take her back to the inn," He suggested. I nodded and helped Angie stand up, but she stumbled and leaned against me. I looked over to Omen who half shrugged and helped Angie stand up straight and we took her back to the inn.

* * *

"... Hey," Omen said. I opened my eyes and squinted from the sunlight. I turned to the side to find Omen finishing getting dressed. I noticed a necklace he wore around his neck was a silver snowflake with small diamonds encrusted onto it and hanging from a silver chain. It must have referred to his Cryomancy skills.

"What is it?" I mumbled before turning to lie on my back.

"You should get ready soon, before the others get up," Omen suggested and put on dark purple gloves and a long white coat. "Say... did you know that Angie... drank so much?"

"I knew she drank when we left Kalm... but no, not that much that she'd get drunk," I replied. Angie was a really depressed drunk from what I had seen last night. "I really didn't see it coming. It's not like Angie to become alcohol dependant. It just isn't her character..."

"Hmmm... a lot _has_ happened," Omen stated. "You haven't seen her for five years, have you? She obviously changed during that time." I sat up and glared at Omen again. Who did this guy think he was?

"Look, just because you're pals with her Uncle doesn't mean you know Angie better than I do!" I snapped, which made him flinch. I got up and started to get dressed in a silent fury. Okay, maybe it wasn't that silent. "Honestly, you don't even know her."

"And you think you do?" Omen asked. I could hear from his tone he was getting agitated. "Listen here, you don't even know her past or her family. I bet you don't even know her birthday. By Alice Marie I bet you don't know much about yourself for that matter." I glared at him again as I laced up my boots. Once I had finished doing that I turned to him and advanced towards him. At this point I noticed that I was taller than him. He must have only been five foot seven.

"Don't try riddle me, okay?" I snarled. "You can try all you want, but if you think you're gonna try and confuse me just so you can get to Angie, you are gravely mistaken."

"What makes you think I want to give you an identity crisis just so I can get to Angie for the Superiors?" Omen asked, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "Or are you just worried that Angie will depend on me more since I'm a friend of Oblivion's? Therefore putting you out of the picture? You have some sort of need to be the one she depends on, don't you? That's why, even though she keeps secrets from you, you still go running back to her because you're the only own she depends on." I clenched my fists and resisted the temptation of punching him in the face. To be honest, I thought he had hit the nail on the head. How could he have deduced that from only knowing us for a day? But... I just hated how he explained it to be when I just wanted it not to be true. I didn't want to have an obsession with being constantly depended on.

Then again, I didn't want Angie to be a walking wreck of complexes and self-destruction but that really isn't going to happen any time soon, is it?

I silently glared at him, then turned and walked away from him.

"I know who I am, and I know who Angie is."

"If that's the case, have you never wondered why you are blind, yet you can see?" He asked. As I got further away from him he started to call out. "Have you ever wondered that maybe you were never blind to begin with?"

* * *

Yes, Omen's just a new guy and he's already on thin ice with our protaganists. Too bad he isn't aware that speaking the truth between Angie and Christie's relatonship will be a massive problem for our girls.

On an unrelated note: Today is my Fanfiction Anniversary. Three years today!


	33. North Corel

North Corel

I could tell from the distainful looks I was getting from the men, and Christie, that I wouldn't be trusted for some time. However, Red XIII, Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie seemed to be more interested in me. As for Angie... I think she was too hungover to even concentrate on walking. It was a shame, really. Christie said that this wasn't part of her character, but these sort of things can surprise you.

We were currently climbing a mountain that would lead us to North Corel. Funny thing was I had to lead them since I knew where we had to go. Well, I had to travel through here to get to Costa Del Sol and onto that cargo ship. We were just reaching the peak and beyond that there was the Corel Reactor, then we'd have to walk across the rail tracks and into North Corel. It was quite far, so I had suggested that we take a rest at the peak of the mountain and spend the night just outside of the Reactor.

"Hey, how long until we reach the top?" Yuffie whined before stumbling and slipping on a rock. The part of the mountain we were climbing was almost a vertical surface, but it was safe enough with all the ledges and so on.

"Not far, there's a safe spot just a little further up," I smiled with a smile. We kept going upwards and I managed to get up onto a safe, and quite large, part of ground that was flat and stable. I walked ahead to check the distance between where we were and the Reactor. We actually weren't too far off it, which was good. I smiled again and went back to the group. "Guys, we can take a break now if you want to." Tifa, Aerith, Angie and Yuffie all sighed with relief while Cloud, Barret, Christie and Red didn't really respond. Angie actually lay down by a tree and went to sleep. I looked over to Christie, who looked at me and shook her head. I nodded in silent reply. It wasn't our place to tell them about her drinking problem.

"Omen," I looked over to Aerith, who was sitting on a rock not too far from me. "The Reactor you mentioned that's down there... is it operating?"

"Nah, I think they've shut it down, quite recently, too," I replied, dismissively waving as I spoke. "Plus there were some broken tracks when I was travelling through here, so we needn't fear getting run over by a train, if that's what you're worried about." Aerith smiled at me warmly, which made me smile back at her. She was really pretty, she kinda reminded me of another brunette I met a couple of years ago.

I looked over to see Christie getting up and walking away from the group. With a raise of my eyebrow I decided to follow her. She just went away from the group to be alone with her thoughts, I guess. She really thinks too much. Same with Angie. I can tell on their faces that they just get too involved with their thoughts.

"Still not one to trust, are ya?" I asked, putting my hands in my pockets. Christie turned to me with a blank look on her face. "You've not got Angie to talk to, so you're left alone to think. Maybe you should socialise more."

"Quit it with the psychoanalysis," She snapped. "Why don't to analyise someone else and leave me alone."

"You really don't like being told the truth, do you?" I asked again, getting deadly serious with her. "You're afraid that the truth will hurt you so badly that you just try and make this lie a reality? You and Angie both run from the truth thinking everything will be okay, but it only ends with both of you falling from your imaginary world."

"Feck you, you feckin' feck!" She snapped at me, incredibly angry now. I simply nodded in response to her anger.

"Exactly. You just can't accept someone outside of the relationship sees the flaws in it and is exposing the reality of this... fabric of a relationship you have with her. Plus, you really need to let go of some of that anger," I didn't turn my back out of small fear that she would send a Aura ball into the back of my head. Oblivion warned me about her and her tendancy to get easily pissed off or be shellshocked by revelations.

"Fine," She smirked. I didn't like that look. She was planning something; I could see the cogs in her head operating. "You want me to let go of some anger? I usually blow off steam by sparring. Or are you gonna run?" Her fists clenched and her blades slid out from her guantlets. I raised an eyebrow and took out my war fans.

"I warn you, I've had far more years of experience on a battlefield than you," I told her, but Christie was a little ignorant and overconfident. That was her character. We got into our battle stances and, naturally, Christie leapt forward and tried to go in for a punch to my jaw.

I stepped back and she stumbled forward before recovering and sweeping her leg under my feet, a move which I jumped over and ducked under her roundhouse kick. I blocked her punches with my fans and sidestepped, delivering an elbow into her back and creating a distance between us as she was stunned.

Christie growled and ran towards me, her fists glowing with Aura as she got in close and blasted me with her Aura, which did knock me back but I quickly regained my senses before she gave a reckless punch to my jaw. Her fighting style was repetitive, which made her predictable when it came to fighting. This would make her lose when fighting Shinra. Plus I knew she was actually trying to hurt me. She wasn't going to hit this face.

I ducked under another roundhouse kick and pushed her back. She kept growling and threw an orb of Aura towards me. I quickly reacted by blocking it with my fans. I created a small ice ball and tossed it at her. She raised her arms in defense but she was shocked when she found she entire body freezing on impact. I ran towards her and kicked her shins, making the ice shatter and her fall to the ground. She took a moment to warm up but she almost grabbed my ankle in reaction. I jumped back and got ready for another attempted punch to my jaw. I think she wanted to break it so I'd shut up.

I stretched my arms whilst waiting for Christie to get up and attack again. She went into frenzy mode and started to throw kicks and punches at me. She was actually quite a strong woman, but I didn't have too much trouble blocking her attacks. I formed a small ice path and slid across it and appeared behind her, grabbing her arm and twisting it before throwing her over my shoulder.

Christie lay on her back for ages. I think she acknowledged that she had lost. If she wasn't wearing the Looking Glass I would have an easier time working out what she was thinking. I didn't have any hard feelings for her. She was just a little difficult. I held out my hand to help her up, but Christie glared at me and got up herself.

"You're so hostile, I'm only trying to be friendly," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. "Or is your idea of friendly being secretive and untrusting?"

"... You're a prick," She stated, turning away from me and walking back to the group. I followed her from a distance and decided to think on how to get on her good side. Women weren't exactly my area of expertise. Ah, I'm sure I'll think of something later. I'll need a little more time anyway. Maybe when we get to North Corel or something I'll have an idea.

* * *

An hour or so later we were on our way again, this time with Cloud leading. I just told him we had to follow the tracks and we'd be a North Corel in a snap. Angie seemed to look a little better, but I didn't have a chance to talk to her as Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie we all trying to talk to me and know me better. Ocassionally Red and Barret would pipe in with a question or two. It kinda felt good getting attention.

"So does this Highwind work for Shinra?" Barret asked.

"Nope," I replied with a shake of my head. "Used to, but he's... well once we meet him I think he and Shera will tell the story. It's not my place to say anything," Ironically so far I had been nagging Christie about her relationship with Angie. "I'm sure he'll lend a hand if we need it, though." I then fell back a little to walk beside Angie. She waited until we leapt over a small gap in the rails.

"Yes, Omen?" She asked quietly, not looking at me.

"Hey, ya know how Christie's... constantly miffed?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head. "What's up with that?"

"... That's how she is," Angie replied. "She's... not the best at handling new people. I heard the conversation you had with her this morning..." I rubbed the back of my head again and looked to the left. "I'd really advise that you quit while you're ahead."

"Hey, I'm just saying what I believe," I answered back.

"I understand that... but Christie can't handle large amounts of information at one go," Angie told me. "I know what she's like: If she's told extremely vital information that's pretty much a bombshell, and she can't handle it and gets really angry. When we were heading for Kalm... she was really mad when I hadn't..." Angie sighed for a moment, probably reliving the memory. "If you want to tell her something important... you have to give it to her in small portions otherwise she goes mental. So I'd strongly advise to do what I do-"

"Tell her absolutely nothing and have the daylights beaten out of me?" I asked, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose. "Oblivion taught you better than to lie about who you are-"

"It's not that simple, Omen!" Angie snapped, making me flinch and everyone stop and turn to us in amazement. Noticing this, Angie covered her face with her hands and took a sharp breath in. "Just... just be quiet... just stop it." She turned away and left me in the back. I've really done it now. Oblivion is going to kill me. Well, Christie might kill me first.

* * *

I kept my head down for the rest of the journey to North Corel. I honestly didn't mean to get them riled up like that. I just say what I think is the right thing to say. I guess I try to know these people but I don't actually _know_ them. In fact, Oblivion didn't even tell me what his niece would be like. He told me to look after her but... that was it. Just "Don't let her out of your sight"... and Christie's just a time bomb. She's probably been bottling up that anger from the moment she met Angie.

And thank Alice Marie I am not saying this out loud otherwise I'd be lying in a pool of my own blood. I'm starting to think that doing this was a bad idea. Why couldn't Oblivion do this himself? He never explained that.

He had to use the sister card on me... I'm starting to wonder if he actually knows where Ghost is.

"What's happening?" Yuffie suddenly asked. I looked ahead of me and spotted the people of North Corel harrassing Barret. What the Hell? What's this all about? We all stayed back but I decided to try and find out what was happening but Cloud raised his arm and prevented me from going any further. I looked at him with shock and wonder on my face.

"Cloud, he's one of us, what the Hell?" I asked. Cloud turned to me and I noticed that he had _really_ blue eyes. Quite pretty, by the way.

"You can't intervene with everything," Ugh, I turned my back and flipped him off. What kind of person doesn't stand up for their friends?

As soon as the commotion was over, we had continued our way down the town. We split up to find information on Sephiroth, and to my misfortune Cloud set me off with Angie and Christie. I think this might have been his revenge for me flipping him off. He, Tifa and Aerith had went to find Barret while Yuffie and Red were at the other side of town.

"Excuse me," Christie took charge of our group and talked to the civilians. "Have you seen any suspicious characters pass through here? A man wearing a black cape, for instance?"

"Hey, ya know what? I think I did," The man said, turning to us as he recalled the event. "Yeah, I remember now: It wasn't too long ago. He went to the cable cars up to the Gold Saucer."

"The Gold Saucer? That's a dead end," I wondered aloud to myself. What would Sephiroth do at an amusement park anyway?


	34. The Fortune Teller

The Fortune Teller

"Guys, we've found out where Sephiroth's..." Christie stopped talking when she found everyone at the cable cars. Barret looked pretty down so we joined up with them to see what was up.

"Barret, what's wrong?" Aerith asked gently. "What happened here?"

"... It's all my fault that the town's like this," Barrte confessed. His fault? What did he do? "My hometown used to be around here..."

"Used to?" Red asked curiously.

"It ain't here no more!" Barret snapped. I flinched at his outburst. I think a few of us did. "I heard it was buried... in only four years."

"But why were saying all those terrible things?" Tifa asked, a clear expression of worry on her face.

"It's all my fault!" Barret growled. "Four years ago Corel was planning to build a Mako Reactor. We were all up for the idea... except for my friend, Dyne. We all should have listened to him instead of building that fuckin' Reactor!" Okay, I'm not following this... how is it his fault? "I didn't want Myrna, my wife, to suffer anymore, and the Reactor was built... but when me and Dyne were away from the town... Shinra burnt it to the ground."

"That's horrible!" Aerith gasped. "Why would they do that?"

"There was an explosion at the Reactor... Shinra blamed it on a rebel faction..." Barret was getting angry with himself, but I still couldn't see how it was his fault. "That's why I get so damn pissed! Shinra took advantage of me and I lost my wife and my family!" I didn't mean to say this, but my thoughts decided to voice themselves.

"And just because you happened to not be in the town at the time they all decide to blame it on you?" I said, hands on my hips with a raised eyebrow. Everyone was looking at me and Barret was building up fury with every word that came out of my mouth. "That's just wrong. Some community it must have been that they just use a scapegoat to blame everything on when something goes wrong even if they weren't even there at the time!" I immediantly gasped and ducked under Barret's punch and ran several feet away from him.

"Shut up! What the fuck do you know!?" Barret yelled. Tifa and Cloud tried to calm him while the others looked on in wonder. Me and my bleeding mouth...

"Hey! Are you guys wantin' to go the Gold Saucer?" The man at the ticket booth asked. "You better get on, it'll be heading up soon." I was sort of half saved for now, so I ran right into the cable car and sat at the far end. Now I've upset three people. Great.

* * *

That ride up to the Golden Saucer was the most awkward experience of my life. Everyone was just quiet and no one looked at each other. I just didn't understand why Sephiroth would be here. The Gold Saucer was a dead end and in the middle of a desert. It took me ages to find a way around the desert. As soon as the doors opened I had exited and remained five feet away from the group. I wasn't listening to them. I didn't want to get a death wish. I just waited until everyone split up. Barret went off to one part of the Saucer, Tifa and Cloud went off somewhere, Aerith, Yuffie and Red went in a different direction, so I followed Christie and Angie to the Wonder Square.

I don't think they noticed me following them, but when we reached the Wonder Square Angie turned to Christie and said something before they split up, leaving Chrisie alone.

"Where's she going?" I asked. Chrstie turned to me and rolled her eyes.

"To find any information on Sephiroth," She replied bitterly. "What are you gonna do? Go on, make a smart-arsed comment to wind me up. I know you're dying to do it."

"You know what?" I began, approaching her with narrowed eyes. "I was actually here to apologise so here it is: I'm so sorry that you don't like people telling the truth when you're looking for it yourself. This is who I am and I'm not changing for anybody."

"You're so witty," Christie replied with venomous sarcasm. "I'm sorry you're just a prick who can't keep his mouth shut."

"Well too bad you can't accept change!" I snapped. Damn I hit a nerve there. Thank Alice Marie we were in a public place otherwise I'd be dead. Christie threw her arms up in exasperation and groaned.

"That's _exactly _what I mean!" She yelled. "You think you know everythig but you know fuck all about any of us! You really think that people would want to hear all of this coming from another person who they barely know? We'd rather find out ourselves, thank you very much!" Ehh... she had a point. But I just tend to do that, that's who I am. I stood there with nothing to say. How could I say anything without making it worse? "Finally, I shut you up." She went to a bench and sat down while I stood, completely speechless. I just decided to sit down beside her.

"... Nothing I can say will make this any better will it?" I asked.

"No, if you say that constantly analysing people is who you are, then nothing you do will make it better," She replied. "I don't think we'll ever get on, so we should just leave it at that."

"And piss each other off even more?" I asked. "Sorry, I'd rather try to at least have a truce between us."

"Like that'll ever happen," Christie turned away from me. She was so stubborn.

"Look... I'm not asking you to trust me," I began. "I'm just asking you to help me. We both share a common goal: We want to protect Angie-"

"I don't want to protect Angie," Christie interjected and turned around to face me. "Angie was meant to be _my_ Guardian. She was meant to protect _me_. I just want to find out who she is. I'm not interested in getting involved with all of this... whatever is happening. I might already be in this mess, I know, but I won't go along with it until we get to Nibelheim, understand?"

"Ehh..." I looked over to my left and clicked my tongue as I thought. "I guess... sort of..." We sat in silence for a while, but eventually I thought of something to say. "Chris... do you really think that Angie doesn't trust you?"

"Of course," She replied. "She won't tell me anything until we reach Nibelheim, even if I go for the calm and friendly talk I don't get much from her."

"But you trust her, don't you?" I asked, feeling as though I was walking around eggshells. She didn't give me an answer. "... And you clearly don't trust me?"

"Well yeah," Christie said, pulling back some of her hair. "I know Oblivion can't look after Angie himself, but that's not it. I'm worried in case you hurt Angie. Either emotionally or physically. It isn't because of Angie or Oblivion I don't trust you... it's my own reasons."

"But you said that seven years ago you trusted your friends because they were allies of allies," I responded. "I'm an ally of an ally... why can't you trust me?" I know I said that I wasn't asking her to trust me, but I wanted her to trust me, if that makes any sense.

"There you are," I looked up to see Cloud and Tifa there suddenly. It was Tifa who had spoken. "Where's Angel?"

"She's..." Christie looked over to the side and pointed as Angie returned to the group. "There."

"I couldn't find anything," Angie said quietly as she joined the group. "No one has seen any sort of person wearing a black cloak or have any other resemblence to Sephiroth."

"Damn," Cloud mumbled. "Then I guess we should get the others and move on."

"Did ye say ye were lookin' fer Sephiroth?" I raised my eyebrow as everyone looked over to see a... massive stuffed Moogle and riding on top of it was a black and white cat with a red cape and a crown. It was the cat that was talking, and it had a Kalm accent. "Sorry, it's jist that I overheard ye talkin' aboot it, I'm a fortune teller, the name's Cait Sith."

"A fortune teller?" Christie was unconvinced, I could tell my her tone and the raised eyebrow she was giving the cat. Cloud, however, was a little more desperate for information.

"Are you just a fortune teller?" He asked curiously.

"Well, no actually," Sait Sith replied. "I can find mssing people, missing things, anything!"

"Then can you tell us where Sephiroth is?" He asks, a little rudely if you ask me. No! Keep the mouth shut!

"Sephiroth? Well, okay, here goes," Cait Sith did some sort of shuffle and the Moogle handed Cloud a piece of paper.

"_'Be careful of forgetfulness... your lucky colour is... blue'_?" Cloud read out, which made us all look at Cait Sith in confusion. "What is this?"

"Oh, hold on and I'll try again!" Cait Sith begged, performing a shuffle again and handing the paper to Cloud.

"... _'Ordinary luck. It will be an active forutne. Give in to the good will of others and something big'll happen after the summer' _..." Cloud remained silent at this fortune.

"No offense, but this is a watse of time," I stated. "Can we just go?"

"No! Wait! I'll try again!" Cait Sith begged again and quickly done another shuffle and handed Cloud a piece of paper again. I was bored and I wanted to get out of here. If we weren't allowed to play any games then what was the point of being here?

"What the?" Cloud then read the fortune out aloud for us to hear. "_'What you pursue will be yours but you will lose something dear'_." That didn't sound to good.

"Hmm, I don't know if that good _or_ bad," Well if we're losing something dear then of course it's bad! "Never 'ad a fortune like that before..." We all looked at each other, not sure what to make of this. "Well, shall we?"

"Excuse me?" Tifa asked.

"I want tae find oot what this fortune means, so I'm coming along with you!" Cait Sith declared. "And don't try an' make me change my mind!"

"Wonderful..." Christie grumbled. I could feel she didn't trust Cait Sith, even if he was just a stuffed toy. Maybe that's why she didn't trust me. I didn't really have a legitimate reason to be here, like Cait Sith. I was just told to look after Angie.

* * *

So our group, along with our new recruit, went down to the Battle Square as Cloud said there was a guy there who owned the place and he might know something. Unfortunately when we arrived there we found a heap load of corpses of Shirna soldiers and Gold Saucer guards. Dammit were they catching up with us?

"What's happened?" Tifa asked in shock. "We only just left here a few minutes ago." Cloud then immediantly ran towards the Battle Square entrance. Naturally, we followed him and seen more bodies lying about the place.

"Was it Sephiroth?" Christie asked as Cloud approached one of the bodies and examined it. I felt really bad right now. But if all these people had died, where were the Phantoms coming to take their souls away? Maybe they've already been here.

"These people were shot... Sephiroth wouldn't use a gun," Shot? Well, Angie was with us and I haven't seen her use her gun before. But Barret... that just leave him and his gun arm... and he wasn't with anyone...

"Hey!" We heard people rush into the area and a man with three soldiers approached us. "Hold it right there and stay quiet!" The man who wasn't a soldier came closer to us. "Did you guys do this?"

"No!" Christie yelled. "Check the bodies! They've been shot! We don't have guns!" Um, I think she's forgotten...

"Then explain the gun your friend has," We all looked at Angie's gun, and she tried to conceal it but to no avail.

"Guys, I'll hold them off," I whispered, conjuring ice behind my back. "Find the others and get out of here. There's a town nearby called Gongaga, I'll meet you there."

"Omen, are you sure you can handle them by yourself?" Cloud asked. I turned to him and gave him a wink and a smile.

"I'll be fine, trust me," I grinned and cast an sheet of ice over them, which made them freeze over before they could catch us. "GO! Get outta here!" The five of them ran out of the Battle Square while the soldiers broke out of the ice. It was only a thin sheet to buy us some time.

"Stop them!" The man ordered, but slid across some ice and stood in front of the entrance, barring it off with a thick sheet of ice.

"You'll have to go through me!" I told them, taking out my war fans. The guards came at me but I ducked and elbowed one in the face and kicked the other one in the chest. The third one I grabbed and shoved him into another guard. I got a distance from then and froze any bullets they fired at me. I let frost cover the tips of my fans before swiping them and sending out a shockwave that knocked them back and froze them. I jumped up and knocked them all down before running into the arena area to get away.

"This is as far as you go!" I heard the man yell as I got into the arena. I looked around to see a robot coming towards me. In panic and croched down before letting out a wave of frost to stop it in its tracks. I turned to the man and called out to him.

"You don't understand! It wasn't us!" I yelled. I don't think he was listening. The robot was breaking through the ice so I tried to freeze it again, but ended up with a bullet to my shoulder. "Gah! You bastard!" I looked around for the person who fired it, but I ended up getting picked up by the robot. I tried to freeze it but I couldn't focus with this thing squeezing the life out of me!

I just hope everyone got out of here okay.


	35. Falsely Accused

Falsely Accused

I must've fallen unconsious because I don't remember being suddenly dropped into an abandoned house. I sat up and groaned, looking about the place. There was a dead body over in the corner and I started to panic, standing up and looking around.

"Great... I'm stuck here..." I groaned.

"What happened to optimistic Omen?" I turned around to see Christie standing at the doorway. Damn, guess my wish wasn't answered.

"Couldn't escape, I guess?" I asked. Well, no duh Captain Obvious. I'm so dense at times.

"We managed to join up with everyone, but they caught us before we could head for the exit," She explained. "Not too long afterwards we found you and you were out cold. Then we found Barret here. He explained that it was Dyne who killed those people at the Battle Square," Dyne? His friend. "Barret thought he was dead, but now he's with Cloud and Tifa. He's going to settle this and find a way out of here."

"What about the others?" I asked.

"They're all outside. Angie and Aerith are talking about Cetra things or something," Christie began to explain. "Yuffie, Red and Cait Sith are guarding the place in case bandits of criminals attack us. Cait Sith explained that there's a way out of here; we have to win the Chocobo Races for our freedom. But we need to get past the 'boss' for permission. I think Dyne's the one who runs the joint," I nodded before Christie approached me and indicated to my shoulder. "We haven't had time to get the bullet out, so we had to leave it until we could figure out what to do.

"Aren't you a Collosus or something?" I asked. Oblivion did mention that Christie had the powers of a Collosus. "Can't you use Magnetism to get it out?"

"If I could I would," She answered. "But I can't use Magnetism because of a chip that's preventing me to use that power, and Aura won't be of any use. We can't heal it until the bullet's out." Damn, I guess I'll have to do this the hard way. I looked at my wound and examined it, determining where the bullet was.

"Okay, it's in an awkward place, but nothing that can't be sorted," I said to myself. I could tell Christie was confused at what I was saying. I took my coat and my shirt off before looking at her. "You might want to look away."

"What? Why?" Christie asked as I put my right hand on my wounded left shoulder. "What are you doing!?" In a swift movement I yelled out in pain as Christie gasped at my sudden action. "What the...!? You just dislocated your shoulder! Are you mad!?" I took a deep breath in and took one of my war fans, but kept it closed. "Seriously, Omen, you're freaking me out-" She gasped again and turned away as I impaled my shoulder with my own weapon. I tried to not cry out from the pain. It's been a long time since I've done that.

"... Is it out?" I asked. Christie walked around me and looked at the ground.

"Yeah... you got it..." She cringed. I pulled my fan out of my shoulder and put it away. I then grabbed my shoulder and relocated it and screamed in agony.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!" I muttered through gritted teeth. "I haven't done that in a while..."

"Ehh... hold on, I've got a Restore Materia," Christie sat both me and herself down before a mint green glow formed around my shoulder as she healed it. I'm surprised she wasn't asking questions yet. "Omen... why is your blood black?" There we go.

"All Phantoms bleed black blood, it's a mark of our race," I told her, looking at the pool of black blood on the floorboards.

"And you've done that before?" Christie questioned, indicating to the bullet I pushed out.

"Yeah, but it's a lot easier when you have a sai knife on you," I laughed. "Yeah, there were a few times I've been shot at. When we couldn't get assistance I usually took my sister's sai and stabbed it out of me."

"... Weirdo," We both laughed at her comment as Christie finished healing the wound, then I started to put my shirt and coat back on. "There you go. Once I find out how to get rid of this chip you won't have to do that again." I gave her a smile and she looked at me weirdly. "... What?"

"Maybe I should get hurt more often," I grinned. "You're nicer to me then." Christie rolled her eyes and stood up.

"You actually gained a couple of points in my book," She told me. "Staying behind to let us escape, that was... incredibly brave of you." She turned to me and crossed her arms. "You really wanted us to be safe, even though you hardly know us."

"We're comrades, it only makes sense I'd want to protect you," I smiled and blushed. I felt a little embarrassed for this. "So... we okay?"

"... I trust you," She told me with hesitance, and I looked up at her. She just smiled, but there was no emotion behind her eyes. "Break that trust and face my wrath."

"Knowing you that won't be pleasant," I smiled and stood up. "You're really not that bad, Chris, just a bit war-torn and you try to act tough, but you're a nice girl at heart."

"Don't push it, mister," She shook her head at me, half chuckling. "I may trust you, but you're far from being my friend." We looked over to the door to see Angie standing there.

"We heard a couple of screams, we were worried incase you were killing him," Angie said to Christie. "But you seem to be getting along fine... that's good."

"Any news from the others?" I asked.

"They've come back, Cloud's going up to race," Angie explained. "We just have to wait. Then we can get out of here."

"You really to Nibelheim, huh?" Christie asked. Did they make up while I was unconsious? "That's alright, I think we all do."

"Are you two always like this?" I asked, pointing at them both. "One minute you're majorly pissed off at one another, you're not speaking and then you're friends again just like that? Seriously what are you two all about?"

"That's what friends do," Christie answered. "This is how we've always been." From the look on Angie's face I could tell that she wasn't too happy about that sort of friendship. I kept my mouth shut, though. "But honestly, I'm still mad at you, Angie," Christie's face turned sour and she walked off. As soon as she was away Angie sat down on the couch.

"When we get to Nibelheim... she'll hate me forever..." She mumbled. I just turned to her. "She acts like we're friends, but I know deep down she's furious at me, and always will be."

"... I'm not saying anything," I told her, looking away.

"How can you just do that?" She asked, sounding as though she was about to cry.

"Anything I say will make you feel horrible," I told her. "Angie, some things you have to just deal with as they come. You and Christie may not be on the best of terms but she still cares about you."

"... You haven't known us that long... you don't know how she can be..." Angie looked at the ground and sighed. "I care about her, I really do. I didn't want her to be a part of this... that's why when I met her I tried to be distant but... there was something about her that made me... feel safe."

"You two have a weird relationship," I said. "But I do think that Christie cares about you. Just give her some time. Remember you told me she'd only understand this if we tell her bit by bit?" Angie looked up at me and nodded. "I think we just need to do that." I wasn't too sure about the atmosphere I could feel between the two women, but if I was careful then we'll all get out with minimal injuries. "You wanna be left alone?" Angie gave me a nod and I turned to leave the house. I think she mumbled something but I couldn't hear what she had said.

* * *

"Hey guys," I said as I got outside. Tifa and Barret were there now, so I'm guessing Cloud was there. Christie was leaning against the wall and everyone else was in a circle talking. "I've been filled in on what's happening, so do we just wait?" I got a few silent nods so I just sat down. It was really awkwardly silent it made me a little nervous. I didn't want to say anything because I was already on their hit list. We just waited and looked around the desert. It was really hot and I hated it. Why couldn't it be freezing? I liked colder temperatures, that's why I picked Ice as my Element.

Eventually we spotted a man in a suit coming towards us. He didn't look like a prisoner so maybe he was from the Gold Saucer staff.

"Are you all with Cloud Strife?" He asked. Blunt, ain't he? Aerith stood up and walked into the house to get Angie. "I have orders from Dio that I've to bring you to him." Aerith came out with Angie in tow. "This way; don't want to keep Dio waiting."

We arrived in some sort of compound for cars and all that when we met with Dio. Surprisingly, Dio was the guy who accused us in the Battle Square. Basically everything was explained to him and Cloud has won the race so we're getting a full pardon and a Buggy that will let us travel around quicker. Well, that's good because Gongaga is _really_ far from here.

"I'm glad that was sorted!" Yuffie exclaimed. We were waiting on Cloud to come since he had the keys to the vehicle. "So, where're goin' now, huh?"

"To Gongaga, there's something I need to check there," I told her. Christie looked at me with a raised eyebrow. She said she trusted me but I was beginning to wonder if she was telling the truth.

Cloud arrived later on with the keys to the Buggy. He unlocked it and we all boarded on. Cloud told us that he was told a man in a black cloak was heading to Gongaga, so I guess we're heading off there. Well, we were going off in that direction anyway.


	36. Gongaga

Gongaga

"So, where is Gongaga?" Yuffie asked. We were driving down a dirt road with forest at either sides of the path.

"It's deeper in the forest, it's a kind of backwater place," I replied. "Passed through here on my way to Costa Del Sol, it's kinda small. There was an explosion at the Reactor a couple of years ago, a lot of people died."

"Well, why would Sephiroth want to go there?" Cait Sith asked. I leaned back and crossed my arms, but not before pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose.

"That's what I'm wondering," I replied. "There's nothing there. At least not when I was there." I looked about the Buggy, wanting to change the subject. Gongaga wasn't really an interesting subject. I didn't want to talk about Sephiroth either. Gah is that all these people talk about? Seriously they need more of a life than Sephiroth Hunting all the time. It's like he's a long lost lover or something. Well, he is a looker.

"Hey, Cloud, you sure you know where we're going?" Christie asked, looking over to Cloud, who was currently driving the Buggy. He just replied with a quick nod and concentrated on driving. I was getting kinda bored, so I decided to focus on seeing if my arm was okay. I rolled my shoulder back in a circular motion, and it hurt like Hell. It takes a while for me to recover from dislocating and relocating my shoulder.

Cloud suddenly stopped the Buggy and we all rocked forward in our seats. What the crap? We looked over to Cloud to see what the problem was.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" Tifa asked. Cloud looked out of the window and through the trees.

"... I think there's someone there," He replied. "I'm gonna check it out."

"Hey, what if it's Shinra?" Aerith asked with a hint of worry. "Let us come with you."

"No, if it's Shinra then they might catch you," Cloud told her. "Christie, Omen, you'll come with me. Everyone else wait here. If it's an ambush, Tifa I want you to get everyone out as fast as you can."

* * *

The three of us got out of the Buggy and made our way through the forest. We kept down low to avoid them catching us. Soon we got close enough to see, but far enough away to avoid detection.

There were two guys there, both in Turk uniforms. One with red hair and the other was bald with sunglasses. They were talking about something, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I got a little closer and put my head on Cloud's shoulder.

"Hey, can you hear what they're saying?" I asked. Cloud shook me off him and grumbled.

"No, can't hear a thing," He replied with narrowed eyes. I looked at Christie as she tried to listen to them, but I think she couldn't hear anything. I think she was also focusing on the red head. Well, he's kinda cute, so I guess that's okay.

"Shouldn't we... see what they're doing?" I asked. A blonde girl in a Turk uniform arrived and started to scold the two, but she looked younger than them and in no position to give orders. "C'mon, what if they're planning to catch us?" They just ignored me and I rolled my eyes. "Fine! I'm going closer!"

"What are you thinking?!" Christie exclaimed, a little too loudly as all three Turks turned to us and we stood up, our cover blown. Partly my fault, but Christie's loud, so it's her fault.

"It's Avalanche!" The girl exclaimed.

"Very observant," Christie deadpanned. "I see your injuries healed." She was talking to the red haired guy, so I'm guessing they've met before. After a silent moment the red head nudged the blonde to get her attention.

"Get outta here and inform the boss," He told her. "Me an' Rude'll handle them," The girl huffed and took off, and the red head took out a rod and grinned at us. "So this is a coincedence, eh? What brings you guys out here?"

"I don't believe in coincedence," Christie stated. "Plus, you guys have been following us." The red head chuckled at her and shook his head.

"C'mon, we're not stalkers," He smirked. "Now I guess it's payback for what you did to me in Sector 7." I rolled my eyes and me and Cloud drew our weapons.

"... Out of our way," Cloud replied and leapt towards them and slammed his weapon down. The guy quickly jumped out of the way and got out of range as the bald one proceeded to advance towards Cloud.

"Omen, I'll take Reno, you help Cloud with Rude," Chrstie ordered, leaping towards the red head, who I'm guessing was Reno. I got behind Rude and grabbed him from behind and let Cloud get a hit in, but Rude overpowered me and tossed me over his back, and I landed on mine with a thud. I quickly jumped back onto my feet and glowered at Rude.

I got beside Cloud and waited for Rude to strike at us again. When he did I raised my arms in defense but this guy hit hard so I stumbled back a little then groaned in pain as I got punched in the stomach. Cloud attacked again and I could hear Christie fighting Reno in the background. I got back up and formed icicles before casting them towards Rude. They barely missed Cloud and one hit Rude, while the other two just went right between Christie and Reno.

"Watch where you're spellcasting!" Christie snapped before ducking under a right hook. Rude tried to punch me but I ducked and swept kicked him off his feet before forming a block of ice over him and letting it fall on top of him. He got up and faced us, but I couldn't see his expression under those sunglasses. In a split second Reno fell onto his back and we surrounded the two. Christie raised her fists, and I noticed that her claws were retracted.

"Hmph, not bad Chris," Huh? Since when did he call her Chris? I thought I was the only one! "Sorry guys, but we're gonna have to split, so how about we finish this later?" He and Rude quickly ran off before any of us could react. Cloud put his sword away before crossing his arms.

"How did they know we were here?" He asked.

"... A spy?" Christie responded, glancing at me for a moment with suspicion.

"In Avalanche? ... I hope not," Cloud shook his head and sighed. "I trust everyone."

"Yeah, except me and Angie," I said before shutting my mouth. I knew I couldn't do it for long. Cloud just scoffed and turned away.

"I'll get the others and we'll take a look around," Cloud said before going off. Christie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Typical," She stated.

"What? You don't trust me, even though you said you did," I deadpanned. "Was that to shut me up?"

"Whatever," Christie turned away from me. Unfortunately, I decided to persist on a different subject.

"How come you didn't try to impale that Reno guy like ya did me at Mt. Corel?" I asked. "And how come he gets to call ya Chris but you hate me calling you that?" She just continued to ignore me, yet I still kept talking. "What, do you like him or something?" Christie spun around and looked at me with a half shock and half glare. "Hey, I don't blame ya, he's _is_ cute, ya know? Do you have a thing for red heads?" Okay, her expression was a full out glare now. "Uhh, you want me leave? This way?" I pointed behind me and she just continued glaring. "Yeah? Thought so. I think Cloud's calling on me anyway."

Whew, that was a close one. Kinda.


	37. Towards the Canyon

Towards The Canyon

We hadn't found anything in Gongaga. The place was very quiet and no signs of Sephiroth what-so-ever, so Cloud had imediantly decided for us to return to the Buggy and head to the nearest town, which happened to be the hometown of Red, Cosmo Canyon.

I had been to the Canyon once before, when I was younger. I truly loved the place. When I was there it seemed so calm and peaceful. I hoped it was the same as it was when I was there.

"So once we reach Cosmo Canyon, what do we do?" Christie asked. Tifa had taken over driving as Cloud was getting tired. I think a lot of us were nearly asleep; it was getting late.

"Well, we're going to get some supplies, and probably spend the night there," Cloud explained before yawning. "Then in the morning we'll be heading to the next town... or what's left of it." Cloud was silent for a moment, but I ended up being the one to name the town.

"... Nibelheim..." I muttered through the thick silence.

"Well, I'm sorry to say I won't be joining you," Red stated. "I only wanted to go as far as Cosmo Canyon, as I only wanted to return home."

"I won't hold that against you," Cloud nodded, and he then turned his head to Tifa. "Tifa, do you want one of us to take over?"

"No, I think I'll manage for a while longer," Tifa smiled and continued to drive. She had such a motherly air about her. "You guys can get some rest, who's turn is it to drive after me?"

"Probably Barret," Cloud said, but Barret was already asleep. "Just switch when you're tired, okay?"

* * *

The next morning I woke up with a crink in my neck. It must have been they way I was sleeping. I looked about to see that most people were still asleep. I turned to the driver, who turned out to be Christie, and she was very silent. I looked back to the group and noticed Omen's head resting on Cloud's shoulder. I don't think Cloud was aware of this.

"Christie?" I asked. She didn't reply and continued to drive. "I understand you don't want to talk, alright? I know you say we're okay, for now... but we're not, are we?"

"... No," She replied bluntly. "I've been your best friend for seven years... you'd think by now you could trust me. I used to trust you, but... I'm not so sure now."

"... I think that's probably better," I could sense something was wrong with her. What it was I couldn't tell. "Christie just let me know... will you ever be able to forgive me?"

"For being an untrusting bitch, turning to alcohol for comfort, leaving me behind, getting me involved with your own problems, hiding your past from me or all of the above?" She replied bitterly, which made me flinch and look at my feet. I could sense power seething from her which scared me a little. "You can't change, Angie, and I don't think I can put up with a person who can't return the trust I once gave them." Her voice was raising and I was worried in case she'd wake the others.

"Christie, I told you-"

"Told me what, exactly?" She glanced at me through the corner of her eye, but I couldn't exactly see her glare under the Looking Glass. "That you're a... what are you exactly? Cetra? Angel? God? You're so many things I think I've lost track. Then I don't learn what I really am until you decided to let it slip. Honestly Angie how long do you plan to keep this going on for? Nibelheim? Even after we leave there I think you'll still be nothing but an untrusting bitch who hides everything from those she's supposed to trust!"

"Christie, can you please calm down?" I was getting a really bad feeling about her getting angry. I don't really think her Aura's been used for a while...

"Calm down? You probably don't even care about me, how can I be calm and okay with that?" Okay she was getting a little _too_ accusing now.

"Christie, I wanted nothing more than to keep you safe!" I snapped. "If I didn't care about you would I have gone to Shinra to save you?" She kept silent. "Well? Would I? And what about when Siren was going to kill you? If I didn't care would I have saved you? Would I have brought you here if I didn't care? Christie, I came back here to settle my past. And I brought you here because you deserved to see it." She kept silent for a long period of time, but I could see her anger boiling. She was going to burst, no matter what would happen next.

"... Don't spin your words to make you look like a victim..." She growled through gritted teeth.

Suddenly there was a small explosion and we all jutted forward. Everyone immediantly woke up and was on full alert. The Buggy had stopped and Christie tried to get it going again.

"C'mon!" Christie yelled as the Buggy gave up on us. She growled and hit the dashboard. "What the Hell!?"

"Hang on, I'll go check it," Omen piped up and left the Buggy. We all decided to follow him to see what he was doing. Much to our surprise, he was inspecting the Buggy's engine.

"Angel?" Aerith spoke to me and I turned to her. "Are you alright? You seem... upset..."

"... Did you hear our conversation?" I asked in worry.

"... I think a few of us did," Aerith nodded. "But Christie is really nice, she'll forgive you soon." I did notice that Christie had gotten close with Tifa, Yuffie and Aerith, and also had fun teasing Cloud when she had the chance. She was even getting along with Omen now.

"The way our relationship has been going, I don't think so," I sighed.

"Hey is there a wrench in the Buggy?" Omen suddenly asked and Yuffie decided she would stumble into the Buggy to check. She did claim she had motion sickness and we actually had to stop a couple of times to let her throw up.

"... No..." Yuffie called back to him weakly. Omen grumbled something and shut the hood of the Buggy.

"Right, something's definately fucked up the engine," Omen explained. "It's like it got hit with a Thundaga spell. If I had my toolbox I could fix it, but sadly I left it in Rocket Town."

"That's helpful," Red said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey, how was I to know this would happen?" Omen immediantly defended. "Fine, what do you suggest we do?"

"We go to Cosmo Canyon and ask for help," Red replied wisely. "It's not far from here, I'll lead the way."

"While we're there maybe we can get some help with this contraption," Omen nodded to the Buggy as we started to follow Red towards Cosmo Canyon. We followed in silence before Omen confirmed my suspicions on the breakdown. "Angie, Christie's Aura is what caused the Buggy to breakdown."

"I thought that, but how, exactly?" I asked. She was still a novice with Aura, but she could keep it under control.

"Well, you know that anyone's power can get a little out of hand if it isn't used for ages," Omen explained. "I don't think Christie's Aura has been used recently, I haven't seen it used since Mt. Corel, and you know that everyone's power can be traced to their emotions. So maybe because she was getting angry her unused Aura decided to burst. And that's how we got into this mess." So it was my fault for getting her mad. Then again I guess the reason she's so angry all the time is because of me...


	38. The Cycle of the Planet

The Cycle Of The Planet

So about fifteen minutes of walking took us to a small town in the canyon. It was quite high up in the canyon so we had to do a bit of climbing up the path that lead us to the town.

"So this is your home, Red?" I asked as we got closer to the town. The sunrise made the entire town have an orange glow to it. It was kinda cool.

"Yes, I was taken from here some time ago by the Shinra, protecting a friend of mine," Red explained. "I apologise, but I will not be joining you once the vehicle is repaired."

"Yeah, you're home now so I guess you have no need to go any further," I nodded.

"Christie, about that chip..." Red began. "If I speak to my grandfather, he may be able to remove it for you," Seriously? Wait, so I can meet grandpa Red? I wonder what he looks like. "It may take a while, but he should know of this sort of thing."

"Thanks, Red," I nodded. We made it up to the entrance of the town, where a man keeping guard was sitting at the gates. He looked up and immediantly noticed Red and grinned.

"Yo, Nanaki!" He exclaimed. Nanaki? What the Hell? "You're alright, you got away from Shinra, I see."

"With the help of my friends, yes," Red nodded. "I must speak with my Grandfather and let him know of my return, but may my friends join me?"

"Sure," The man opened the gates and let us in. We all looked at Red/Nanaki in confusion. He sort of stared back at us.

"How come you never told us your real name?" I asked. Red sighed and bowed his head in embarrassment.

"I wasn't too sure if I could trust you, as I didn't really know who any of you were," He explained. "Also, the name ended up sticking, but I apologise for not telling you all my name sooner." I guess he had reasons. Hell, we didn't really know him that much, but I still felt kinda angry.

"I guess we're okay," Aerith smiled. "How about we visit your grandfather?"

"Um, I think I'll check out a few rooms," Angie immediantly stuttered. I wonder why? More secrets perhaps?

"And I've gotta go see if anyone can help us repair the Buggy," Omen added.

"Yuffie, go with Angel," Cloud said. "Barret you go with Omen." I like how he always uses the buddy system. Very clever. Now should your buddy ever talk constantly about things you don't want to hear or fall into self pity, knock them out immediantly and contact the team leader ASAP before you have an urge to kill them.

* * *

"Grandpa?" We opened the door to the house near the top of the town and went inside. It was kinda busy with a lot of books and bits and bobs for research things or something along those lines. I mean there was a telescope projecting out of the roof so I'm guessing his grandpa was a scientist.

"Nanaki?" A voice came from the room above us. It sounded older and wiser than anyone in the group. A moment after he spoke a man... floated... down...?

... I didn't see this coming.

"Hohohooo, it's good to see you, m'boy," The man floated towards Red and gave him a smile in greeting. "I'm glad you're safe, are these the people who helped you return?"

"They are, grandfather," Red nodded and turned to us. "Everyone, this is my grandfather, Bugenhagen. He's incredible, he knows everything!"

"Hohohooo, I don't think that I know everything," Bugenhagen laughed. He seemed like a nice man. "But I do thank all of you for bringing Nanaki home safely and you have my sincerist gratitude. He is still a child, you see." Red looked down in embarrassment. I guess he's still embarrassed by family.

"Grandpa, I'm forty-eight," Red tries to argue, but I don't think he thought he would win.

"You may be, Nanaki, but you are still only a child," Bugenhagen then turned to us and decided to explain. "Nanaki's race is know for it longevity. He may be forty-eight but that is roughly fifteen or sixteen in human reckoning."

"Fifteen or sixteen?" Cloud seemed quite amazed, as did we all.

"Seriously?" I added.

We then spent the rest of the day talking to Bugenhagen. He explained to us about Gaia's life cycle, how people live and die, how the Lifestream works, and the Planet's decaying status. He even showed us a hologram portraying the galaxy when explaining this, but he doesn't think we can save the Planet. It's not because he thinks we're weak or anything. He only thinks that we can postpone the Planet's fate, as everything has an end and can't last forever. Apart from the exceptions. I bet Angie, Omen and Oblivion were the excpetions. Oblivion's Death so you really can't kill Death, Omen claimed his race can live for a long time, and Angie... God and Angel? She'll last for a while. As for me... I think I just have human longevity. I could be wrong, but we'll see.

* * *

It was a lot later, when the day was ending, that Red had asked Bugenhagen if he knew anything about my chip. So now I was sitting while he inspected my neck to try and find a way to remove it.

"Hmm... Oh, I do think I have seen this before," I sighed. He must've met Fina, then. This is her work. "Hmm, yes. Gravity Magick surpressing the powers of a Collosus and rendering the power useless."

"Let me guess, Fina Furanio asked for your assistance?" I questioned bluntly with a raised eyebrow. Red looked at his grandpa. Aerith and Omen were hanging around, too. They didn't say anything, but my question was answered.

"Yes, she did as a matter of fact," Bugenhagen replied. "Do you know her?"

"I know _of_ her," I had only met her once, when I was unconsious in Mt. Gagazet, at the Fayth. One of the major turning points in my life. "She's... the aunt of someone I know."

"Oh, she was a pleasant woman," Bugenhagen told me. "Optimistic, yet full or uncertain worry. She put the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she was a delight to know. I was shocked to hear that she had died thirty years ago. Leaving behind a husband and a niece, as well as a lifetime of work," He paused in his speech and thought. "Her niece... is she with you?"

"Yeah, Angie's at the inn," Omen piped in. "She's adamant about not coming up here, though." Hm, maybe because it would jeoparodise her plans to keep her past a secret.

"Ah, I remember her niece, but they were only passing through to reach Nibelheim," Bugenhagen reminisced. "She was quiet, but very bright. Ah, but we better get back to this," Thank you. I can't be bothered with Angie becoming the topic of coversation. "Now, I may be able to remove this, but it is very risky. The chip is latched onto your brain stem, but if we are care we will be able to remove it."

"And if it fails I might die or something?" I asked, slightly worried. I didn't get a reply so I shrugged. What was I to be worried about? I mean I've died before, and even then I came back. I think it would take a lot more than pulling out a chip to kill me. "I'll be fine, just tell me what to do."

"You will need to stay still, one sudden movement could be dangerous," Bugenhagen said. Eh, I guess I can do that. Then Omen had to comment.

"You know, if you wanted to keep her still-"

"Omen, I am _not_ going to be cryogenically frozen!" I snapped. "Try that and I'll shove your war fans down your esophagus!" Omen shifted uncomfortable before heading to the door.

"Ehh, I gotta go finish up the Buggy, anyway," He said awkwardly before leaving the house. Aerith and Red stood at either side of Bugenhagen to see what he was going to do.

It was incredibly silent for ages while Bugenhagen worked on removing the chip. I didn't like the silence but I couldn't talk in case I started to nod if they asked a question. I was hoping so much that this would work, then I could get revenge on that fucking weirdo.

"Ow! Holy feckin' feck!" I screamed and grabbed the back of my neck, standing up and rubbing it. Fuck that hurt. "Well, is it out?"

"Yes, I believe your shock managed to rip it out," Bugenhagen chuckled.

"... Thanks," I mumbled. "Damn that's gonna sting..." I pulled my hand away from my neck and rolled my shoulders back. "Well, ehh... now at least I'll be able to fight like a used to."

"Ah yes, I sensed that your Aura was stronger than most," Damn, this Bugenhagen guy knows everything, don't he? "An Auraole... it's rare to see one who can use their own spirit to fight. You seem to use a physical Aura, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm not good with Magick," Everytime I say that I'm constantly reminded of the Thundaja incident seven years ago. "I tend to just batter thing with my blades and fists."

"Hmmm... and Auraole and a Collosus..." Bugenhagen wondered for a moment. "Perhaps it is your Destiny to save the world, or at least postpone its fate." Yeah, I've saved Spira twice, but this time I think the enemy's upped its game. Sephiroth seems like no Sin or Vegnagun. I mean he could bat me away with the flick of a wrist. Shinra seems to have more power than Yevon, as they're army are more than happy to execute you on sight, as well as their lovely little elite forces of Soldier and the Turks. "Ah, forgive me, but I must speak to Nanaki alone for a moment, so could you both please leave?" Aerith and I nodded and we left to meet with the others at the inn.

* * *

"So, you'll be able to use your powers again?" Aerith asked, hoping for a conversation.

"Yeah, I'll give them a day to rest," I told her. I didn't want to be straining my powers. "But I'm glad that's over. Never really been good with Aura."

"I wish I could use my own powers like you..." Aerith sighed.

"Hey, you can use your powers fine," I told her. "I mean, you're not exactly the offensive type, I mean not all of us can be. We need someone to back us up if we're hurt. Besides, you're a much better Mage than I can ever hope to be." Aerith smiled at my words. "Plus, aren't Cetra meant to be pacifistic and natural healers, anyway?"

"Well yes, but Angel really isn't good with her Cetra blood, as though something's stopping her," Aerith explained. I rolled my eyes.

"Typical Angie," I mumbled. When we made it to the fire in the centre of the village we met Omen who was covered in oil from working on the buggy.

"Hey ladies," He smiled. "Well, good news is that the Buggy's fixed and we can get to Nibelheim tomorrow. Everyone else is at the inn so you girls might wanna get some rest."

"And you?" Aerith asked with a smile.

"I'm gonna clean this crap off me," Omen told her, indicating to the engine oil all over him. "So I'll see you two later," Aerith nodded and headed off to the inn, but I stayed behind. "What? You nocturnel?" I rolled my eyes and sat down beside him. "I'd say what's on your mind but I don't think you'd like it," I shook my head at him, but he kept going on, like he always does. "It's Nibelheim, ain't it? You're scared about what you're gonna find there?"

"How can I not be?" I asked him. "Tomorrow I am finally going to find Angie's past, and I do not know what I'm gonna find there."

"Yeah... can't help you there," Omen shook his head with a shrug. "Oblivion only told me background information starting from when you two first met, I only really know about your adventures from seven and five years ago, everything else I've just been analysing myself."

"Omen, it's not that," I sighed, turning to face him. "You know how when you get to know people they open up to you more and they start telling you things and the barriers around them start to go away?" I asked. Omen gave me a sort of half nod in reply. "... Well that rule doesn't apply to Angie."

"... Well, best be ready for whatever comes tomorrow," Omen stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna go shower, so I'll see ya later?"

"Sure, I'm gonna go to bed anyway," I stood up and headed to the inn. I had a good idea that Angie was already at the bar, not that I'd want to encounter drunk Angie again. I guess I've just got to wait until tomorrow to get answers unspoken for seven years.


	39. The Place Where It All Began

The Place Where It All Began

So right now my heart was beating against my chest as we reached Nibelheim. We weren't too far from the town and I was getting really nervous, but did my best to hide it. I believe my hangover was masking my nerves.

"I can't believe it... I haven't been back in Nibelheim for... five years..." Tifa mumbled. This was her hometown that had been burned down by Sephiroth, after all. As for me... I was raised here for a few years, but I still consider it a home.

Everyone was unnaturally silent, even Omen wasn't mouthing off and Yuffie wasn't complaining about being motion sick. I looked to Red, who had decided this morning that he wanted to help us on our journey. We didn't press the issue, and we were grateful for the help. Right now, I really wished I was alone. Or rather, I wished Oblivion was here.

I closed my eyes and attempted to calm my nerves. A part of me was saying that this could all be for the worse, but another part saying I have to do it. Oblivion said he was alive... I hope he isn't wrong.

* * *

When we stepped into the town, everyone was deathly silent. No one was out on the streets. No voices could be heard. It was absolutely barren. Cloud and Tifa's eyes wandered in a state of shock. When I looked around... the town... was exactly the way I could remember it...

That was too strange. Cloud said it was burned to the ground by Sephiroth...

"When I passed through here, I knew something was up..." Omen was the first to speak. "I remember seeing the smoke five years ago... then... people came and rebuilt the town exactly the way it was before it was destroyed."

"Why would they do that?" Aerith asked.

"... To hide the fact that their greatest Soldier turned against them," Cloud answered. "But... no one survived..."

"I actually asked about the fire when I passed through," Omen stated. "They all denied it ever happened. Plus they didn't have a Nibelheim accent... But you could see the fire from Gongaga, there was bound to be suspicion... I don't know."

"... Hey," Christie pointed to something in the distance, her expression was disturbed. "What is that?" We looked at what she had seen. A cloaked figure, clad in black like a shadow, was moving around near the manor. In fact, there were quite a few of them.

Again I had felt sick by their presence. I didn't know what it was that was making me ill, but it was also making Aerith feel sick, as well. I had tried to conceal the ill feeling as we searched around town. Christie and Tifa had went into a empty home, which Tifa claimed to be hers before the incident. As for me, I remained wandering in one small part of the town, constantly looking over to the manor, but afraid to do anything else.

"Maybe the basement will still be the same," I turned to Cloud, who was standing beside me all of a sudden and looking at the manor. "Everything's buried now... going down there means we'll have to dig it back up."

"... How can you not be scared?" I asked.

"Because I want to stop Sephiroth, and if I'm scared that means I'll never be able to stop him," Cloud told me. "You're clearly scared."

"I know..." I mumbled. "It's just that-"

"Don't use the pity vote," Cloud interrupted. "You have to stop with the self-pity. No one's going to feel sorry for you." He had a point, but I have so much guilt inside of me...

From an open window in Tifa's former home, we heard a faint melody being played on ivory keys. The melody playing... it was so familiar. Then that's when it hit me: it was the Lullaby I had known since I was a child. It was an old song, but Fina used to sing it and it stayed in my head. She said it was a song of the Ancients. It was the song Sephiroth could remember.

Christie... she must have been the one playing it. But how did she know the song? Was it more common than I had thought? I just wanted to forget the song now. After learning that Sephiroth could remember it... it scared me a little. If he could remember that, what else can he remember?

"Hey! I know that you guys are lying so why don't you just-ACK!" Cloud and I turned to Omen, who was being shoved out of a house by two angry people before stumbling back and having the door shut in his face. "Arseholes!" He yelled and kicked the door. He was a very forward man. A little too forward sometimes. Now the hole town probably hates him.

"Using the direct approach?" Cloud asked him. Omen turned and stretched his arms.

"Eh, they're very much in love with their lie," Omen winked at Cloud, who raised his eyebrow at him. "They remember me, and they still don't like me 'cause I keep pestering them about what really happened here." Typical Omen. Being so direct. Everyone else was somewhere in the small town, either trying to talk to he cloaked figures or townspeople and investigating deserted houses. I looked at the manor again. It was gloomier than the rest of the town, perhaps it was because of the dark secrets it held there.

I knew what I had to do.

"... I'm going to the manor," I announced with a surprising air of confidence in my voice. Before I was answered I walked down the streets to the manor, pushing open the rusted iron gates. They moaned and scraped across the ground as I opened them and I walked through the overgrown garden. Plants seeping into the house and grass reaching up above my knees, most plants turning brown and dying.

The house itself... broken windows and old wooden planks falling off, as well as roof tiles ready to slide off at any moment and one gaping hole in the roof. The door was old and the wood was beaten and lost all life in it.

... What do I have to lose anyway?


	40. Hardly Angel

Hardly Angel

The manor on the inside was dark and I could hardly see anything. I had to light my way my forming a fireball in my palm and wandering around. It looked exactly the same, only most, if not all, of the lights were broken and the only dim light was from the light outside coming through the windows. I didn't wait for the others to catch up on me, and I went into a small office that I remembered being in years ago. Just after I had recieved my scars...

I know the manor was burnt down, but there must have been things that were salvaged. I looked around the desk to find... absolutely nothing. I sighed and kicked the table in frustration. It had to be here somewhere!

I left the room and walked through the foyer, grass growing from the ground which was underneath broken floorboards. The wood underneath my feet creaked as I walked across to the stairs and advanced up them. If I remember correctly the room where they kept the safe is... at the end of the corridor. Behind the door next to Fina's green house.

I pushed the door open and looked about the room. There was only a bookcase, a table and the safe I was hoping would be there. I could remember vaguely the combination I had seen Hojo use to lock it. He told me never to come into the room or ever open the safe or there'd be consequences.

But there was no way on Gaia I'd listen to him.

I raised a shaking hand to the lock and stared at it for a while. It was on zero... I could remember numbers... I couldn't remember what to do with them...

"Thirty-six right," I turned around to see Omen, raising his palm which had '36 right' written on it. "That's what you're thinking of? Opening that thing?"

"I have to," I replied bluntly, turning the safe lock to thirty-six. What was the next number... fifty-nine... no... "Ten... left..." I mumbled to myself, I think fifty-nine right was the next number. And lastly... I tried desperately to remember what Hojo had said. He always mumbled the combination to himself.

Thirty-six right, ten to the left, right fifty nine... right to ninety-seven...

"Angie," I heard Christie say. I think everyone had caught up with me. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." I hesistated for a moment. I'm sure Hojo put it in here, but what if it's gone?

"... I'm opening it," I pulled the door open and took several steps back. We all stared at the safe's contents for a while, and nothing happened other than a red Materia and a key falling out. Hojo said there'd be consequences... but he never bluffs...

I could hear a few of the others back away, namely Omen, Yuffie and Cait Sith. I decided to be brave and walked over to the key, crouching down and picking it up. I looked at it for a moment... this... wasn't what I was looking for...

I suddenly felt a long tentacle grab my wrist and I let out a scream as I was pulled closer to the safe. Okay maybe Hojo wasn't bluffing after all! I tried to burn it but it seemed to have no effect, so I resorted to struggling.

"Holy shit!" Omen tried to freeze the tentacle but that was a failure too. He then decided to join Cloud and Tifa as they attempted to pull me away from the thing. The thing gave a roar and I suddenly seen two eyes and a set of teeth in the darkness of the safe.

I immediantly began to struggle more, but lost all feeling in my wrist and dropped the key. Christie must have noticed the thing inside the safe and quickly used her Magnetism to slam the safe door shut on its tentacle, making it wail but not retreat. She then drew a blade from her guantlet and sliced right through the tentacle, making the severed limb pull away into the safe. The piece of tentacle that was wrapped around my wrist fell limp and dropped to the ground. I noticed that Christie was still holding the safe door shut, so I ran to it and reversed the combination to lock it again.

"What... the Hell was that!?" Yuffie exclaimed, looking rather ill from the event. I kicked the severed tentacle to the side and looked for the key. It fell somehere around here.

"Hojo must have experimented on something and put it in there to guard the key..." I explained. Cloud picked up the Materia and glanced at the floor.

"And it seems to be doing its job well," He stated. "The key must have fell back into the safe." It did? Dammit. Wait, I didn't need it. It wasn't the key I needed...

"Uhh... I think some of the cloaked people said that Sephiroth was in the basement," Aerith managed to get out, I think she just wanted to leave this place all together. I sighed and gestured to Cloud to lead us to the basement.

* * *

"I hate this place," Christie immediantly stated when we arrived in the cave like basement of the manor, but she didn't care to elaborate on it. I remember the basement being like this... I usually came down here even if I wasn't allowed to. I kept my head down as we made our way to the library. If Sephiroth was down here I sincerly hoped no one would try to fight him.

The basement library had little light and books were everywhere other than the shelves they were meant ot be sitting on. The room was cramped and it was sort of difficult to move around without tripping.

"... Being back here certainly brings back memories," At the end of the narrow passage in the room stood Sephiroth, a smirk on his face. He looked at Cloud and I... I could sense where he may have been going with this. "Hello again, Lullaby. Will both of you be joining our Reunion?" He came a little closer and I started to feel ill again. Aerith was further away so she didn't feel what I did.

"Reunion?" Cloud asked. I wasn't too sure about the term either.

"Jenova will be there," Sephiroth explained. "She will join with us and become a Calamity of the Skies," Calamity of the Skies? Sephiroth frowned at our silence that answered his explination. "Hmph, perhaps you are not ready... yet..." He stepped forward and I began to feel dizzy. "If you wish to know... head North... I will be looking forward to seeing you at the Reunion." Everyone suddenly yelled and had fallen to their knees. I could hear a sharp ringing noise and my vision became distorted.

When we recovered we realised that Sephiroth had gone. I still felt ill and I stumbled down the corridor. I tried to remain steady but I leaned on the wall and ended up vomiting I felt so ill. It must have been Jenova again. It always made me feel ill. Even more ill than I usually felt. I coughed and wiped my mouth. Bloody Hell I felt so damn ill...

I looked over at the desk and seen one lone book that looked almost brand new if it wasn't for the dust collecting on it. I slowly walked towards it, as though I was afraid it would jump out and attack me. There was a title to the book... _'Property of Professor Fina Furanio'_ ... Fina's research? I knew what the others had done... but Fina never explained to me her own research. I never understood any of it, anyway.

_2nd November_

_I really should be with Oblivion, I mean it's his birthday... but I have to continue my work or I'll never get it done. I've been distracted too much recently._

_Hojo and Gast have named that thing Jenova. I try my best to keep Angie and myself away from it. I know what that things does to Cetra: should we come to within a certain distance of it it begins to influence us and cause us to feel ill, thus making it able to kill us and copy our genetic data. Unfortunately my Goddess powers cannot protect me from Jenova, and I believe Angie may be at a greater risk, however, I have yet to confirm anything._

_I have no idea what Hojo, Gast and Lucrecia are planning to do with that thing. I'll need to ask them about it..._

I stared blankly as I turned a page in her notes.

_3rd November_

_Lucrecia's pregnant... two weeks down the line, in fact. I'm surprised she learned about it so early on. She brought this up this morning at our meeting with Shinra executives. Naturally Hojo would have to go off and disappear in his thoughts, not even acting like an overjoyed parent._

_Then again, Hojo has absolutely no love for anyone but himself._

_I hated this because I couldn't say anything to stop it. Hojo and Gast had suggested trying to bring Cetra back to Gaia by implanting Jenova's cells into Lucrecia's unborn child. Out of instinct I did object to it, but they asked me why I would stop a scientific breakthrough... What was I supposed to tell them? Jenova isn't a Cetra? That Angie, Ultima and myself are Cetra? And I know that Jenova isn't a Cetra because along with Ultima and the other survivors I sealed the thing away in the Northern Crater two thousand years ago?_

_I ended up saying that I was worried in case the experiments would have failed, as we haven't properly studied Jenova yet. They told us to research Jenova more, but quickly._

I knew Fina was quite an old Goddess, but still younger compared to other Gods like the Superiors and perhaps Oblivion... I flicked through the pages until I came across something else...

_13th January_

_Both Lucrecia and I are two months down the line of our pregnancies. Minerva has noticed some changes in me that seem to repel her and dislike my presence. I have concluded that the Jenova cells in my body must be what she senses._

_Why have I let myself do this? Why can't I bring myself to tell Ultima or Oblivion? Why do I still trust the Superiors? They killed Faram, and would have killed Ultima if Oblivion and I hadn't got her to Banora before she gave birth to Angie._

_Angie... I don't think Oblivion and I will be able to protect you for much longer... I don't know how much time I have left. Not even Oblivion knows. But I must protect you somehow, even when I am gone._

_The Superiors entrusted me with the task of learning what the Calixto does. Hojo has been nosing around my work and asking what the 'Materia' is. I say it's unique, I say it's the Silver Materia. But... I've gotten in too deep now..._

The Silver Materia is called 'Calixto'... I shook my head and continued forward with reading.

_16th May_

_The Calixto is meant to be a chord in which the Goddess' Power is meant to transfer through until they are able to use the power themselves without assistance. I have learned that the Calixto is meant to channel the power of Universe, the Creation Goddess, but for what reasons I'm not sure. I hadn't fathomed that a second Creation God would be born, but I have sensed that the Superiors are worried, and everytime I speak with them they are cosntantly asking of Angie._

_I can't go on with this anymore... Jenova's cells are making me dellusional and I constantly see visions of... I cannot begin to describe it._

_17th May_

_I've realised what they're doing. The Superiors want to kill Angie because they think she is the Threat. I cannot let them harm her. I promised Ultima I would take take of her..._

_I may regret what I am going to do. But it is the only way I know of. Minerva is the one I fear the most, as she is the Goddess of the Planets. Jenova seems to repel her... and I know of a Sorceress who manipulates the flow of Time... if I can get back in Time far enough... maybe Jenova cells in both Ultima and Angie's bodies will be able to keep Minerva away from them..._

_... And Oblivion must never know..._

She... turned back Time to... make me... one of them...? Is that why I always feel sick? Jenova has been a part of me this whole time? Is this why Hojo deemed me Fina's Monster? Fina... why... how could you...?

_21st July_

_She knows... Ultima is pregnant with her second child and she found out what I had done to her... I don't blame her for hating me right now. I should have thought it through better. Even Angie looks different. Her pupils are now slits and her eyes glow with a torquise gleam of malice, like Jenova's..._

_I can't remove Jenova from Ultima's body. She hates me... the very thing that killed our families was now inside both of us because I willed it._

_Project A... has been deemed a failure because of my own mistakes._

_Ang..._

The writing immediantly stops there... I was... Project A?

"Angel, we're going," Aerith called. I didn't turn around to respond.

"One moment..." I muttered, turning the page.

_13th August_

_They've died... the Superiors held me captive until I gave birth..._

_And I have lied more... I told Oblivion I had left to Midgar... and miscarried... I couldn't bring myself to tell him what was really happening..._

_But I had to... I had to take him somewhere that the Superiors wouldn't expect us to be..._

_Kilika... that seemed like a good place. But Angie... I'm sure she'll be okay..._

The thirteenth? Wasn't that... that was the day... Fina died... I could remember Oblivion returning that night a complete wreck... I didn't realise that she had died that day until much later...

I put down the book and I stepped away from it in complete shell shock. I didn't know what to think or what to do... but I felt... so angry...

I guess now I truly know how Christie feels... Fina's... betrayed Oblivion and I... and my mother...

"Angie, c'mon," Christie approached me and stared at me. "There's nothing here, let's go," I still didn't move. She looked at the desk and took the book and flicked through it. I remained silent as Christie read most of it. I looked down the corridor to see that no one was there. Maybe they had already left. I looked at Christie again when she shut the book and set it down. I couldn't see sympathy in her face, not that I expected it from her. I think... she knows... "... You're an experiment? And you didn't know?" ... I've lost respect for Fina... but I couldn't say it aloud... "... Don't even know your own past..." She walked down the corridor and I followed, leaving the library behind.

* * *

"We're going to follow Sephiroth over Mt. Nibel," Cloud explained.

"Hey, he might've gone to Rocket Town," Omen piped in. "We could see Cid about borrowing his plane to get to the other continents if we can't find Sephiroth there."

"And he'd be okay with that?" Cloud asked.

"Eh... I'd need to talk to him first, he's kinda possessive about it..." Omen rubbed the back of his head. We all suddenly jumped when we heard a groan. It came from behind a door that was a little bit away from the library. I went over to it and tried to open the door, but it was locked. I banged on the door and relentlessly tried to open. "Uh, Angie...?"

"No, we've had enough shit from you for one day and now you're just takin' the piss!" Christie snapped, trying to grab for my arm. I pushed her away and formed a flame in my hand, blasting the door open and causing it to fly across the room in pieces. The room was quite big with... coffins around the room. Only one was in tact though... and that's where the noise was coming from.

"Maybe we should leave the Vampires alone..." Omen said, starting to back out of the room. I moved forward and reached the coffin, flipping open the lid in a swift movement.

Inside was... a man. His hair was long and pitch black, his eyes were closed and we wore red and black. He was tall, he seemed to be six foot... two inches taller than myself. His skin was pale as well... as though he hadn't seen sunlight in years...

His eyes suddenly snapped open to reveal crimson eyes that stared right up at me in shock. I backed away suddenly as he emerged from the coffin... this... I reconsied him...

"... Vincent?" I asked. Vincent just stared at me, looking up and down at me. He didn't know who I was...

"Who are you?" He was asking us collectively... I decided that I had to show who I really was... I promised them when we'd reach Nibelheim... I'd tell the truth...

"Vincent, it's me," I said, trying to convince him. "It's... it's Angevale..." I felt uncomfortable with the silence that came afterward, and tried not to be affected by Christie's burning glare into my back.

"... Angevale Rhapsodos?" He asked. I nodded slowly, but could tell he didn't believe me. "No... that's not possible."

"Vincent, it's been a long time since then..." I began. "Oblivion told me you were alive... I had to know for myself..."

"I died thrity years ago," Vincent replied coldly. "Leave."

"No, I'm not going," I said defiantly. "Vincent, I need you help. Sephiroth has grown up now and he's... he knows the truth behind his birth." Vincent remained silent at this. He had to know. I needed his help.

"... What about the rest?" The others? Oh... he... everything happened when he was in suspended animation.

"Fina's dead," I told him. "Oblivion, you, Hojo and myself are the only ones I know that are alive. Gast disappeared with a woman named Ifalna before Sephiroth was born... I don't know what happened..." I sighed. "Vincent, Sephiroth thinks he's a Cetra, and now he wants to finish what his Mother started two thousand years ago. I need your help."

"Angevale..."

"No buts of what ifs. I'm not taking no for an answer here," My tone was serious and firm. I wasn't letting him go. "Vincent, this is serious. Gaia is in danger and I... Vincent... Hojo, Shinra and Sephiroth... we can't stop them on our own... I want to get back at them for what they did..." Vincent seemed to think about this for a while. "... Please..."

"... If it means I'll meet Hojo, I'll go with you," Vincent said. By this time Cloud stepped in.

"Who is this guy?" He asked me.

"Vincent Valentine," I introduced. "He's a former Turk, he was assigned to Nibelheim to watch over the researchers situated here."

I knew from here on my life was going to get increasingly complicated. But I felt... so much better now...


	41. Change of Face

Change of Face

As we left Nibelheim and headed up Mt. Nibel I felt a incredibly uncomfortable air around the group. No one asked why Vincent knew me by a different name, but I knew they were all angry with me. Especially Christie. I was waiting for her to snap. I was growing impatient with her not saying anything, but I knew it was coming.

"_Angevale_?" Christie snarled, breaking the awful silence in the group and turning to me. "So your name's Angevale Rhapsodos?"

"And here it goes," I mumbled quietly to myself, looking at her and not moving.

"So when were you going to tell me this? On your death bed?" She continued snarling like an animal. This was getting too old. "I can't believe for_ seven years_ you didn't have the deceny to tell me your real name. Some fucking friend you are, huh!?" I rolled my eyes at her. "Any other lifelong secret you want to talk about it? Or will you hide it for another seven years before you bother to tell me!?" That's it, I've had enough.

"Christie-"

"Don't start that!" Christie interrupted. "I fucking hate you! I trusted you, or rather I trusted Angel, I don't know who the fuck you are anymore! You're nothing but a nasty bitch!"

There was an echo as I slapped Christie hard across the face. Her face remained turned to the right and I kept my hand raised from where it stopped after I had slapped her.

"... Shut up," I told her quietly and seriously. "Just shut up. I am _sick_ of you right now. I am sick and tired of this. Why can't you ever just shut up?" Christie slowly turned her head back to face me, a cold glare behind the Looking Glass.

"Now you decide to stand up for yourself?" She asked. "You have some guts doing that now."

"Remember Christie, this time I _will_ hit you," I threatened, taking an oak staff I got from Cosmo Canyon when we visited. I had noticed Christie's arm blades had slid out and she was ready to attack me.

"I'm terrified," She snarled with sarcasm. Without warning I swung the staff at her head and she ducked underneath my swing and tried to stab my shins. I jumped over her and threw a fireball at her, hitting her in the back. Her Aura glowed in her hands and she threw a punch, and even though she was ten feet away from me it still hit me in the jaw. Her Aura must have let her attacks go further.

Christie ran towards me and started throwing her fists in attack, forcing me to block as I looked for an opening. Eventually the oak staff snapped and her fist hit me in the stomach. I dropped the broken staff and took out my sword and got into a new fighting stance.

I leapt at her and began to swing my blade in horizontal slashes. Christie blocked the attacks and tried to kick me, but I managed to block in time and grabbed her raised leg, kicking her in her gut with my own and she reeled back.

Once she recovered she used her Magnetism to raise my sword into the air, along with me. I glared down at her and flipped myself over to stand on my sword and took out my gun and leapt down at her, hitting her in the face with the gun and causing the Looking Glass to fall off her face.

Christie got up and the Aura from her eyes was so bright it made me sheild my own. I did my best not to look directly into the bright steel blue glow that was her Aura. My sword had dropped from the air and landed with a clank. I put my gun away and ran towards my sword, grabbing at and running towards Christie. She sensed I was coming as she was using her Aura Scan to find her Looking Glass. She ducked under my attack and blasted me with Aura before calling metal blades to fly towards me. I managed to block them but a few cut my arms as they flew past me.

I let fire light up my sword and I ran towards Christie again, this time setting her left arm up in flames and she started to scream in pain, falling to the ground and trying to put out the flames. She managed to use her Aura to contain the flames and put them out, and then crawled over to where the Looking Glass was and put them back on.

"You fucking..." Christie growled, her left arm dropped and hung limply at her side. She wasn't about to give up yet. She condensed her Aura in her right hand which prompted me to get into a defensive position.

Christie's Aura Blast was stronger than I had predicted. The blast hit me dead on and let off a shockwave, throwing me backwards and into the mountain side and banging my head. I groaned and stood up weakly. Christie was charging another Aura Blast, and if she did cast it she was putting both of us in extreme danger.

Before Christie could do anything Omen had suddenly dived for Christie and knocked her to the ground, casuing her to start struggling. Without warning Cloud grabbed my arms and put them behind my back. Omen and Christie got up and the girl was still struggling in Omen grip.

"By Alice Marie you're strong," Omen exclaimed as he tried to keep Christie in place. "I think I speak for all of us when I say enough is enough!"

"Just let me put the bitch into a coma!" Christie yelled.

"I'd love to return that favour for you," I snapped back at Christie.

"Stop it both of you!" Cloud ordered, tightening his grip on my arms. "This is the second time you've both done this and you're constantly belittling each other, well, mainly Christie, but you have to stop it! Shinra and Sephiroth are the enemies, not each other."

"Well Angevale ain't exactly a friend, either!" Christie yelled. That comment didn't effect me as much as I thought it would, I just narrowed my eyes at the girl.

"And friends don't exactly beat the crap out of each other," I added, anger glowing in my eyes.

"Hey Cloud, how about we just keep them on opposite sides of the group. Maybe then they'll calm down?" Omen suggested, trying to keep Christie in his grasp.

"How about we kick the backstabbing bitch out of the group!?" Christie suggested.

"If it weren't for me you would even be here!" I yelled at her.

"Well maybe I liked my old life, okay!?" Christie yelled back at me. "Ever think about _my_ feelings for once!?"

"That's all you ever think about! You don't care about anyone but yourself Christie!" I screeched at my former friend. "Why don't you shut up and see what's really going on here!?"

"Enough!" Omen and Cloud yelled in unison. Cloud's grip loosened on me and I tugged away roughly, storming past the group and putting away all my weapons.

Christie was set free from Omen's grasp, and she didn't assult me again. We exchanged hateful glares at one another before I went by Vincent's side. No one had said anything afterwards. I don't care what Christie thought of me. She should just learn to grow up.


	42. Introducing Highwind

Introducing Highwind

Oh by Alice Marie this is the most awkward situation I have _ever_ been in. Seriously we're in the worst silence I've ever felt and I was scared in case one of us would kill each other. Once you hang around really pissed off people you kinda end up getting scared or pissed off yourself.

I was avoiding the urge to open my mouth in fear of triggering an arguement. Eh, anything I say will probably be doomed to failure anyway. We just made our way through the mountain in silence and we were all heading towards Rocket Town. Hopefully Cid will lend us a hand, and maybe I'll get my tools back.

"Uh, guys we're almost there," I said, keeping my voice low for some reason. No one responded to me, so I just kept quiet. Handling an angry Christie was manageable, but Oblivion never warned me on what would happen if his niece got mad.

Basically Rocket Town was really quiet, and also in a bit of trouble should Cid actually get the rocket up and running. For the seven years I've known him he's a mechanic at heart and has to work on something, so when the rocket broke down he's been at it every waking hour of every day, I'm surprised he actually stopped to say goodbye when I left a few months back.

"Yeah, so this is my home... sorta..." I said as we walked through the place. "It's not my hometown, but I've lived here for seven years." I looked at the others. General passiveness, anger and silence all around. Yay, I finally get home and no one gives a damn. Maybe Shera will be a bit more enthusiastic. "Right, you guys want to take a look around?"

"Alright," Christie snapped almost immediantly and stormed off. Angie remained silent and sauntered off with her own little angry cloud. Vincent, obviously having no idea what was going on, followed Angie. Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red ran off somewhere, Barret went to the rocket and it left me, Aerith, Tifa and Cloud to go to Shera and see how she's doing.

* * *

I pushed open the door quietly and went inside the house. There wasn't much change to it since I left, slightly messier, I'll admit, but no real changes. I looked over to the kitchen, where I heard water running so I'm guessing Shera was cleaning up. I walked to the doorway and found Shera putting dishes away. Shera was kinda small with brown hair and wore round glasses. She's older than me and she acts like a mother-figure. She really reminded me of my real mother a bit.

"I'm home," I eventually said, making Shera jump and spin around to face me. She took a while to gain her senses but when she did she gave me a grin and a big welcoming hug.

"Omen! It's so good to see you again!" She said. I hugged her back and grinned. It felt good to be back here.

"Hey, She-she," I said. She-she was a nickname I came up with when I met her, so I've called her it ever since. I let go of the hug and Shera looked at me. "How've you been?"

"I've been good," Shera smiled. She was happy I was back, I spent a lot of time with her when Cid wasn't yelling at me to help him fix the rocket, Tiny Bronco or anything else he'd let me practice on. "It's been so quiet since you left."

"Well, he's been very loud since he joined us," Oops, nearly forgot about them. I gave a nervous laugh and turned to the three.

"She-she, these are some of the friends I made near Junon," I told her. "The blonde is Cloud Strife, this is Tifa Lockhart and the girl in pink is Aerith Gainsborough."

"It's very nice to meet you all," Shera shook their hands politely and Tifa and Aerith smiled back at her. "Would you like anything?"

"Actually, Omen said that a man called Cid could help us," Cloud stated bluntly. Talk about rude. Shera was only trying to be nice.

"Oh, if you're looking for Cid then you'll find him in the rocket," Shera told him.

"Yeah, you guys go on ahead, I need to do some catching up," I winked and let the three leave. I went into the kitchen and made Shera and myself some tea. Shera just took normal tea but I kinda liked the herbal stuff. When I first started drinking it Shera told me it would relax and calm me down. Hmm... maybe I should introduce Christie to herbal tea someday. We went into the living room and sat on the couch. Shera was still smiling, so it was good to see that she liked the fact I was back.

"So, how many more of your friends do I have left to meet?" She asked. I looked up in thought for a moment.

"Well... There's Barret Wallace, Yuffie Kisaragi, Nanaki, Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine, Angevale Rhapsodos and Christie Wilson," I ryhmed off the rest of the group. I noticed that Shera sort of frowned at the mention of Rhapsodos. Yeah, I almost forgot about that. "I should warn you, Angie and Christie are a bit... well... mad. Thankfully they project their hatred onto each other, though."

"I see," Shera nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "Did you find what you were looking for? Have you seen that red haired man again?"

"I did, actually," I nodded. "And no, sightings of Oblivion have yet to occur." Oblivion actually came to Rocket Town to me personally. That's why I had to leave. Shera and Cid got the pleasure of meeting my former boss. It was such a lovely event...

* * *

_Seven months ago..._

_"Once again, I apologise for appearing without notice, but I really need your assistance, Omen," Oblivion explained as he, Shera, Cid and myself sat around the dining table. Oblivion had a cup of tea in his hands and he looked down into it, as though he was studying the contents with much interest. He hadn't been here for long, maybe about ten minutes. In that time Shera had made tea and Oblivion was starting to explain why he was here._

_"I don't see how Omen could help ya, Red," Cid scoffed as he looked from me to Oblivion. My boss raised his eyebrow for a moment at the pilot before lowering it again._

_"Thank you for the affectionate nickname, Mr. Highwind, but I would prefer if you addressed me as Oblivion," He said before turning to me. Dammit I felt as though I was in trouble or something. "Omen, I understand that you've been thrown into this with little to no explination, but you have to trust me as you did before you resigned from your duties." I didn't say anything. I just looked down into my tea for ages._

_"Hey, what are you talking about?" Cid asked. Shera was keeping silent like me. I just listened to Oblivion calmly explain the situation to Cid._

_"Mr. Highwind, you may know that Omen has a twin sister, Ghost Confleo?" Oblivion asked. My sister... I missed her... "She has been missing for some time, and I promised Omen that should he trust me, there was a high probability that he would find his sister," He did say that. He promised me he'd help find her. He promised that if I came to Gaia I'd find her. Nearly seven years and still nothing. "We have had little luck so far, but I am certain that if Omen assists me, he can see her again."_

_"Are you workin' for Shinra or somethin'?" Cid asked, getting a little agitated. "If you are, then you and you're bastard friends can piss off!"_

_"I have no alligience with Shinra, Sir," Oblivion's voice got a little tenser from that accusation. "And I do not need to explain myself to you, Omen is who I came to see, not you." I kept thinking about Ghost. Where was she? Was she okay? What happened to her? If Oblivion said he could help find her..._

_"What do I need to do?" I asked quietly, looking up at my old boss. Oblivion's golden eyes softened from the slight anger that was provoked from Cid._

_"My niece will be arriving on Gaia soon, in roughly five months, to be exact," He explained. "She goes by the name of Angel Lindon, and she'll have a friend with her, Christie Wilson. Christie is a Collosus... like my wife was... she is also capable of using Aura..." He went on to explain about what they had done together, being war-buddies and friends for the past seven odd years, their stories together and how they fight and everything._

_"Um, Sir..." I hesistated for a moment, but Oblivion spoke before me._

_"You don't need to call me that anymore Omen," He said. "I need you to look after the two women, mainly Angie. You can't let her out of your sight. Something is going to happen soon, something that can't be prevented. There's going to be a time when I can't look after you all anymore," What did he mean by that? Yeah, he acted like a second father to me and Ghost, but he was naturally very fatherly. "You have to trust me. I'll explain everything when the time comes..."_

* * *

"... How's Cid been?" I asked, suddenly growing quiet from remembering that incident. I just missed my sister...

"The usual, he's either at the rocket or the Tiny Bronco," Shera explained. "He may not say it, but he's been missing you."

"Yeah..." I said.

"So... that Cloud was cute," Shera looked at me, which in turn made me look at her. "Have you been trying to charm him yet?"

"Nah, he isn't exactly pleasant to me," I laughed. "We're kinda war-buddies, but that's about it."

"I'm certain once you leave that you'll be flirting with him. You've always had a soft spot for blondes," Shera laughed and stood up. "Why don't you go see Cid?" As if on cue the door opened and a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes, his clothes dirty and covered in oil, came in. My face immediantly brightened up and I stood up straight, a small smile forming on my face.

"Well, if it isn't the little bugger," Cid immediantly stated, raising a hand to mess up my hair. I frowned and immediantly tried to fix it again, hoping no engine oil or dirt was in it. That stuff is a nightmare to wash out. "You still so uptight about yer appareance? Some things never change."

"Nice to see you, too, Captain," I said, finished with fixing my hair. Whenever Cid was around I called him Captain out of habit. "Did you meet my friends?"

"Yeah, weird bunch," He replied bluntly. Eh, they are a bit weird. "But you sure picked a fucking bad time to come ask for favours."

"Any favour involving the Bronco is a bad time to be asking favours," I frowned again. He was so protective of the damn thing, ever since the rocket failed to launch.

"No, I mean the Shinra bastards are coming to town," He explained. Oh, did he know I'm in trouble with them because I'm hanging about with outlaws? "And what made ya think I'd give some weirdos the Bronco?"

"Well-" Before I could even start the explination, half of my group entered the building. It was Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Cait Sith, Red and Christie, and guess who was doing the yelling.

"We should just fecking get out of here before the Shinra get here!" She exclaimed. Cid looked at me and I just gave an awkward shrug. "Guys! There's nothin' here anyway! We should just leave!"

"We need to find out why the Shinra are here, Christie," Cloud reasoned. Christie wasn't having any of it, though, and she growled in frustration.

"Simple: They've tracked us down you idiot!" She yelled. "Fine, ye know what? Feck this!" She then stormed past us all and left to the garden, where the Tiny Bronco was.

"Oh no..." I mumbled.

"What?" Cid asked.

"When an angry woman leaves the room, another one enters," I said. To prove my theory correct, both Angie and Vincent came through the front door, and Angie looked as though she was fuming with rage.

"You don't understand, Vincent!" Her voice was raised and she turned to our resident brooder. "You've known her for less than a day and have had no interaction with her! You don't know her as well as I do! She keeps trying to guilt trip me and make me feel awful about myself!"

"Angevale, calm yourself," Vincent seemed very awkward trying to deal with Angie.

"But she is so infuriating! I just- UGH!" She groaned loudly in frustration, unsure of how to continue her rant. Thankfully it gave me enough time to speak.

"Told you," I said, making everyone look at me. Cid then put a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't believe you screwballs managed to not kill the kid yet," He said.

"Believe us, we've been tempted," Cloud scoffed. It's so true. I'm glad they haven't killed me in my sleep. "Cid, we need to talk about the Tiny Bronco-"

"I already told ya ye ain't getting it!" Cid immediantly interrupted.

"Captian!" I whined. "This is serious! I promise we'll take care of it!"

"What? With the tools you left behind?" I rubbed the back of my head and looked down. Yeah I knew he'd get round to that. I left my tools in my room...

There was a knock at the door and Cid stormed out of the room to speak to whoever it was. I'm guessing it was the Shinra since after a few minutes I could hear Cid swearing every two seconds. At this point I had quickly went off to my room and got some of my tools. Namely the wrench, some bolts and some screws. I came back and looked to Shera, who was at the window, peering out of it.

"Omen, take your friends out to the Tiny Bronco," Shera told me. "From what I can the Shinra want it."

"Right, I don't think we really want Shinra getting it anyway," I turned and signalled the others to follow me outside.

* * *

"Oh, now you decide to take my advice," Christie scoffed with a glare. I climbed up into the cockpit of the Tiny Bronco and started the engine.

"If we're lucky it'll be able to hold our weight," I said. The Tiny Bronco was quite big, but it was only built for two people to ride in. Still hopefully it'll be able to carry ten or eleven people. I ignited the engine and got it up and running. "Everyone get on!" I ordered. Everyone was jumping on it and holding on tightly. I will never know how we all didn't fall off the plane as I drove it around and made it take off.

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Barret asked.

"No!" I caleld back over the noise of the plane. Cid never let me drive ever, but I did kinda half know what I was doing. Sort of...

"What!?" Christie exclaimed. "You mean you could kill us!?"

"Listen! Unless you've got a better idea or can drive a plane, I suggest you shut your mouth!" I snapped at Christie. I was flying quite low and I heard gunfire. "Guys, what's happening!" I heard more gunfire before I got an answer.

"Shinra are attacking!" Yuffie called out. "And that Cid guy's catching up."

"Crap I'm in trouble..." I mumbled. I felt a little more weight on the plane and...

"Omen what the fuck are you thinkin'!?" Cid yelled at me. "You don't know how to drive the fucking thing!"

"Well, would you rather Shinra have it!?" I yelled back. Then I smelt smoke. "Oh great..."

"There goes the tail..." Christie mumbled. The bad thing was... well... we were now just over water. Wonderful. "We're going to crash, aren't we?"

"And get very wet," I added.

The next thing we seen was a huge splash over water and most of us falling into said water. I heard some curses and whining, and some of it was from me. We were all completely drenched and the water was really cold! I got out of the pilot's seat and looked about for the group. They were swimming back to the plane and I heard Cid yell again.

"God dammit Omen this is why I didn't want you to drive the damn thing!" He yelled at me. "Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere!"

"Well maybe if you'd just let me explain-"

"Shut up Omen!" Cid yelled, making me flinch. "Dammit didn't you learn a damn thing I taught you!?"

"I'm really sorry, Cid..." I mumbled. I heard some of the group mumbling as they got back onto the plane. I looked down and frowned, waiting for Cid to scold me again. He was really protective of the plane, ever since the rocket launch failed...

"Cid," I heard Angie's voice, but I didn't see her as I didn't look up. "Omen was only trying to help us. He didn't mean anything wrong by it. The Shinra are after us and we needed to find a way to stop them, but not right now. We're going after Sephiroth," Why was Angie protecting me? "He said you could help us..."

"You numbskulls gonna fight the Shinra?" Cid laughed at what Angie had said.

"We could use your help," Cloud stated. "We can use the Tiny Bronco as a boat."

"Fuck! Do whatever ya like with the damn thing!" Cid shouted. "Well, I dunno anything about any of this, but what the Hell, sign me up!"

"Hmph, alright then," Christie shrugged, preoccupied with wringing out her hair.

"That Rufus kid was saying how they were going in the wrong direction to the 'Temple of the Ancients', and that's why the came to the town," Cid explained. Dammit, so much for the space program, then...

"Let's just get to land and find information," Cloud said. I scanned about the Bronco for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"I'm guessing the engines and all that are still working... maybe someone can drive it to land?" I suggested.

"I'll do that," Cid announced before I could get another word in. "You got a lot to learn before you can even _try_ to fly a plan, let alone an Airship!"

Well, he had a point.

* * *

And this concludes the Past Life Arc. Next up is the Cetra Arc, and I think we all know what will happen then...

Sorry it took so long to update, though.


	43. Princess Thief

Princess Thief

Well, after ages of driving through the water, we got to land. Which was good since I didn't want to be stuck on the plane with eleven or so other people. Especially since Christie and Angie were close to shoving each other off the plane. In fact it nearly happened. Unfortunately Cloud was in the way. Still, we were wet, cold and I wanted a decent sleep!

"Cloud, where are we?" Aerith asked. Cloud looked around as he tried to dry himself off, but it wasn't for happening. Hey, we were all really wet here. My hair gets wavy and straggly if it isn't dried properly!

... Wow I am such a girl.

"Oh! I know this place!" Yuffie exclaimed, somewhate very cheerfully after complaining more than I was about being soaked. "It's kinda dangerous up ahead, but I know it like the back of my hand!"

"... So there's a town nearby?" Cid asked.

"Yup! Follow me!" Yuffie then took off in a hurry, making us all feel suspicious of her. Naturally I'd have to be the one to voice this.

"She's up to something," I stated. Everyone stared at me for ages. Some in a sort of confused manner. What were they not already used to this by now? "Seriously, one minute she's all moody and stuff, then she's suddenly cheery and I swear she's got that gleam in her eyes. You know the one that you see when someone's-"

"Your mascara's running," Christie interrupted me before she walked off and followed Yuffie. My face went bright red as I raised a hand and wiped under one of my eyes, looking at my hand to see black mascara. Dammit I knew I should gotten the waterproof kind!

... Wow I really _am_ a girl.

* * *

It was a few hours later we were walking through a field area. Yuffie was way ahead of us, skipping happily. I didn't like it... something was up...

"Okay, this bit up ahead is really dangerous," Yuffie stopped and turned to us. "So we should stick together."

"Em, hate to break it to you, kid, but it's an _empty field_," I stressed the last two words as much as I could. "Who's leg are you tryin' to pull? I may not be the smartest of us but I know girls and you must be on your period or something because you are really acting weird."

"Hey that's them!" We heard guns clicking and four people appearing from behind rocks. Shinra soldiers here? We all took out our weapons and I pointed at Yuffie.

"You see!? Why do you guys never listen to me!?" I exclaimed. Yuffie then went right on the defense.

"Nuh-uh! I didn't have anything to do with this one!" She yelled before clasping a hand over her mouth.

"What!? So you _were_ up to something!?" Cid exclaimed. The soldiers then charged at us and we attacked. Christie used her Magnetism to throw their weapons away and roundhouse kicked one in the face. Cloud hacked one with his sword and we took care of the other two with ease. Wow if they really were trying to catch us they failed miserably on that attempt.

"I knew we shouldn't trusted that girl," Angie snarled as she paced around like a caged animal. "I knew she would be trouble but none of you listened did you?"

"Yeah, because we'd listen to a lying, borderline alcoholic," Christie snapped. "In fact, scratch out the borderline part." Wait... something didn't feel right about this.

"Oh yes, I forgot how much you _love_ to provoke my faults, Miss Selfish-Co-Dependant-With-Anger-Issues," Angie snapped back. Whoa, that was a low blow. I looked around at the group and felt around my pockets. Huh? I swear I had a Ramuh Summon in here... what the Hell?

"You know what? Why don't you just go drown in your self pity at a bar or something?" Christie snapped back.

"Guys-" Tifa tried to get their attention, but they continued to insult each other.

"Very witty, Christie, you should learn to take your anger out on something else, you know? The insults are getting tiresome," Angie countered. I noticed a small flame flicker in her hands. Uh oh...

"Guys! Yuffie took the Materia!" I exclaimed suddenly. Well, it was true. Both Angie and Christie looked at me with shocked expressions.

"What!?" They blurted out at the same time. Angie then looked at her neck and gasped.

"The Silver Materia's gone!" She exclaimed.

"What!?" Christie's jaw dropped and they looked at one another, slow anger forming on their faces.

Then the most amazing thing happened- they connected. And suddenly all of the hatred they had for each other... was suddenly focused on Yuffie.

"... I'll kill that bitch!" Christie yelled and ran off, Angie following with her sword drawn.

"Not if I get her first!" She yelled and followed. The rest of us watched them run off into the distance for a moment before I looked at the group.

"I think we should follow them."

* * *

_Angevale's POV_

"Where did that little bitch go?" Christie snarled as she ran into Wutai. I let any sort of calm go from my mind. She had stolen the Silver Materia and for that Yuffie would suffer. Christie scanned the town for our thief and then pointed to a building and gave out a war cry. "There!"

"Get back here!" I screeched and we both ran towards Yuffie, who screamed and ran off into the distance. Without warning both Christie and I were tackled to the ground by none other than Omen, Tifa and Cloud. "Let us go now!"

"Calm down first!" Omen yelled back, before he yelped and got off us both, holding his nose and groaning. "Alice Marie that hurt..." We both stood up and looked at the group. Omen was clutching at his nose and I spotted some black liquid dripping from his hand. Christie got him really hard there. "Dammit one of you guys talk to them, I'm injured enough." He proceeded to back off from us and tend to his injured nose.

"I know you're both angry at Yuffie but you need to calm down before you do anything," Tifa told us.

"She stole our Materia and completely backstabbed us!" Christie yelled. I tried to take their advice and calm down but it wasn't working too well. She stole my Materia. The only thing I had of Fina left. And I'm sure Aerith was upset at losing her own Materia. "Just give me five mintues!" Omen then tackled her down again before getting a knee in his stomach, making him yelp loudly and move away again. He doesn't ever learn, does he?

"Look, she went that way so let's go, alright?" I groaned in frustration and went off to get Yuffie myself. Unfortunately we bumped into people we were less than happy to see.

"What!? Avalanche!?" The blonde woman... what was her name... Elena, that was it. "What are you doing here!?" It was a little strange. The three Turks weren't wearing the usualy uniform. Infact they were completely casual.

"Elena..." Reno grumbled, rubbing his temples. "Leave 'em, would ya?" We all remained silent at his comment. Did he... want to leave us alone? Why? "We're on vacation, we don't need to deal with them." Ah, so he doesn't live for his work. Rude simply remained silent as Elena's face went red with rage.

"So uh... can we go?" Omen asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're kinda busy here." Reno stared at us and gave a shrug.

"We're not stoppin' ya, go ahead, you're making me sober anyway," Without another word we awkwardly went our separate ways from the three Turks. I hope we meet them when they're on holiday more often. After that we continued our search for the little thief. The problem was she was getting better at hiding. We couldn't find her anywhere!

"Right, so if you were a pesky little thief where would ya go?" Cid wondered out aloud and gritted his teeth in thought. We looked around until we heard a clinking noise, like clay hitting off a hard surface. We listened more carefully to find where it was coming from. Cloud and Tifa ventured around a corner and we heard screaming, something break, more screaming and then the two come back with a restrained Yuffie. In return to this, I restrained Christie.

"What the feck!?" Christie snarled, struggling in my grip.

"She doesn't have the Materia with her," I indicated. "Once we get the Materia back we'll deal with her." Christie seen logic in my statement and stopped struggling, but glared at Yuffie, making her gulp.

"O-okay! Okay!" She surrendered. "I'm sorry! You win! I'll get your Materia back!" Now... this was too easy... but if we're getting our Materia back then I really don't care.

* * *

"I'm really sorry..." Yuffie mumbled as we reached the basement of of the house where she kept the Materia. "I just... I wanted to make Wutai the way it was before the war, you know? We got peace and all but its honour was lost... I thought if i got lots of Materia I could...."she then turned away and began to cry, head in her hands.

"Yuffie... I don't about Wutai or your feelings," Cloud said. I know we were mad but he didn't have to be a heartless arsehole about it. "You have our Materia and I want it back... now." Yuffie didn't respond, but indicated to two levers, the left one to be exact. Cloud was still very untrusting as he made his way over to the two lever and pulled the right one.

The next thing I knew we were all in a cage.

"Ha ha!" Yuffie laughed. "You should have listened!" This was Christie's breaking point. She let loose a blood curdling war cry and used Magnetism to rip open the cage and charge after Yuffie, who instantly fleed from her. The rest of us quickly went through the gap in the bars and chased after them both, managing to keep track of them for the blasts of Aura and slash marks on the ground and buildings.

We continued to follow the trail of mild destruction, and I use the term 'mild' loosely, until we reached the far end of Wutai. The two were no where in sight but the screaming and yells came from a door. Naturally we all barged in to find men restraining Christie and Yuffie, and they also manage to rid the two of their weapons.

"Let me go!" Yuffie ordered as the men pulled the two away.

"Christie!" I called out. She didn't seem to be winning in this struggle. Perhaps they drugged her?

"You again!?" Aerith exclaimed as another man came into view.

"Corneo!?" Tifa gaped. Hm? They knew this man?

"Oh it's you girls again!" The man beamed. "I was so surprised to find three beautiful ladies just run right to me here!"

"Three?" I asked, and coming into view was Elena, also being restrained.

"Let go of me! I'm one of the Turks! You won't get away with this!" She screamed before the man drugged her and they escaped before we could make any movement. I felt a rage swell up inside of me at that moment. I gritted my teeth and immediatly ran after Corneo and his henchmen.

"Get back here you scum!" I screeched as I ran to get Christie back.

Our group ran down through the streets to find where that bastard had went to. How could he have gotten away so fast!? We turned a corner and we bumped into once again... the Turks. It was only Reno and Rude this time though.

"Alright, we said we'd leave ya alone, alright?" Reno glowered at us. What was he talking about? "Give us back Elena and we'll let the thing slide, okay?"

"Elena ain't with us," Omen piped in. "She got taken by that Corneo guy. He took our friends too." The two men look at us for a moment before Reno gave an approving nod.

"Alright..." He mumbled. "Now I'm saying we're gonna all be pals but for now let's not bother each other, alright?" Well, I guess we both had the same problem here, so we agreed to the temporary truce. "Any idea on where he could be?" At that moment we heard a war cry from the distance. Wow Christie's been practicing. "Ahh... this way." We followed the two Turks towards the mountain statues and we hiked up them as fast as we possibily could.

* * *

"Hey, why is Corneo doin' this?" Omen asked as we made our way up.

"Corneo is looking for a bride, in Sector 6 Wall Market he picked a girl each night to..." Tifa trailed off at this point. "Well, have sex with. But he was also working for Shinra and sent spies to the Avalanche hideout and then that bastard there made the Plate collapse!" Reno froze as the subject was brought up.

"It was orders," Reno shrugged a little heartlessly.

"Perhaps you should be brought up to speed with our groups violent rules," I said. "If we are pissed off with an ally, we _do_ start to beat one another senselessly." Reno blinked a few times before walking ahead of us a little faster. We followed him and Rude more quickly when we heard Christie, Yuffie and Elena's faint yells and screams.

Then one scream made us run even faster to our friends.

"THAT'S FUCKING PEDOPHILIA!"

* * *

We drew our weapons and charged towards Corneo, cornering him on the hand of the statue. I had both my sword and gun out and was ready to kill the bastard.

"Let them go!" I yelled. Corneo backed away a little more as we advanced towards him. I let fire flicker on my hands as I got more ready to murder him.

"W-wait! Now can't we talk this out?" He asked. I looked to Christie and the others, who were struggling to try and escape. We need to stall as they tried to escape, but how?

"AHH! I should have taken those escape lessons more seriously!" Yuffie screeched. Dammit what was he doing to them!? I kept my eyes on the prick and growled.

"Come any closer and they'll be dropped off the statue!" He laughed. "And we don't want that, do we?" Bloody Hell. This will be harder than I thought.

The switch in Corneo's hand was suddenly shot at and flung off the edge. We looked in the direction of the bullet to see Rude there with a gun in his hand. About time they made themselves useful. Reno joined our group and walked past us, pushing Don Corneo off the edge and standing on his hands.

"Ever since you slipped up you knew this would happen," Reno told him, snarling a little. "Now... you're being an extra thorn in my side, so..." He slid his fot forward a little, not giving Corneo a chance to speak. "... Don't take it personal... it's our job." The next thing we seen was Corneo plummeting to his death. We remained in silence, no party willing to say anything.

"Erm... mind letting us down?" Yuffie asked, breaking the silence.

* * *

Avalanche walked ahead of the Turks as we went down the mountain. Christie, Omen and I were walking at the back, none of us saying anything. Christie occasionally turned back to look at the three Turks but remained silent.

"I'm guessing we're back to the way things were, then?" I asked Christie, not looking at her. "Nothing's ever going to change between us, is it? After everything that's happened I won't be surprised if you never talk to me again once this is all over."

"Uh, Angie?" Omen tapped my shoulder and pointed behind us. I looked to see that we had gained a distance between the Turks and Christie was talking to them. Well, Reno really. "What do you think she's doing?" I don't know, but the one time I decide to be open and talk about how I hate how our relationship is she just pisses off to talk to our enemy.

"I wonder..." I simply responded, not voicing my feelings.

"Gee... when did she become so proud?" Omen asked curiously.

"... It's my fault, really," I told him. "If I had been around more maybe she wouldn't be this way."

"Yeah, everything seems to be your fault in this 'friendship'," Omen stated, turning to me with crossed arms. "But still, you're kinda better than her. In terms of who you are as a person." I looked at Omen with a raised eyebrow.

"... What do you mean?" I asked.

"It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are," Omen stated. "I mean, it took guts to let go of the person you were and reveal your true self. Christie's still being kind of a coward and not opening up, so instead she's hiding behind fear and anger."

"I understand the anger... but why fear?" I questioned him. He was always so observant, so maybe he knew why Christie acted the way she did.

"I know a lot of things... but that I don't," He told me. "I guess... it's up to you to find out." He then walked ahead to catch up with the group. I watched him leave before looking at Christie again. Our friendship was never well based, but for some reason we still stuck by each other. Christie needed answers to all of this, to why she was here and her purpose. What I needed from her was more simple than what she needed.

All I needed from her was a friend.


	44. Human Nature

Human Nature

Okay, so after Yuffie gave us our Materia back we left Wutai and the Turks and headed back to the Bronco and towards the mainland. We actually had no idea where we were gonna go next until we came across this small house in the middle of no where with a guy talking about a Keystone. He said that it was given to a guy called Dio.

And so we ended up back here, at the Gold Saucer.

Well, after talking to Dio about it he said that if one of us compete in the Battle Arena then we can have it. Cloud, being the great and wonderful tough guy he is, had went in there. So while he was in there the rest of us waited about quietly. Seriously, no one was saying anything. And I really couldn't find anything to do, so I resolved to do what I did best: analyse the crap out of everyone.

Hm... who could I start with?

Aerith was a really nice girl. Bit quiet but she and damsel-like but all around good. Although with her mother's death and being constantly harrassed by Shinra I'm surprised she's still a cheerful little lady. As a Cetra she seems to accept her powers and all that, but I think deep down she's still in denial about them, I mean her and Angie are like the only two left, and what'll happen when they're gone? Aerith doesn't really want that burden, so I think that sometimes she just wishes that she wasn't a Cetra. She's really sweet, and she's a good person. She also has this thing for Cloud, I mean from the way she looks at him and flirts subtly with him I can just tell. Who can blame her? Cloud's really hot.

Shame both her and Tifa like him. Tifa's incredibly motherly, in fact there are times where she reminds me of my own mother. She's kind of protective of Cloud though, which is slightly annoying. She's a lovely person but extremely caring it's almost like a fault. Damn but she is such a good person I guess you can look past that, well, maybe if she expressed her feelings more I'd be really proud of her. I mean if you keep hiding your emotions then you've put yourself and your friends in deep trouble.

Her and Barret really got along. Barret clearly dislikes me, for lack of a better term. I guess maybe I shouldn't have been nasty about Corel, but I don't regret what I said, just how and when I said it. Nice guy to Tifa, but apart from that he kind of acts neutral towards the others, but I do think he considers them good friends. He does have that fatherly air around him, so I think that makes him protect the younger girls in the group and all that. He did he had a daughter, only four years old. Marlene's a cute little name, but I have yet to meet her. I don't I'll ever be more than a battle ally to Barret, but he seems to be getting along with Cid so we may keep in touch after this is over.

Cid is actually almost exactly like my own dad, only Cid swear and smokes a lot more. He wasn't as crude before the rocket launch failure. He's still a little pissed about it. Wait, I think 'a little' may be an understatment. I've known him for seven years, much longer than anyone else here. His dream was crushed and because of that he became incredibly bitter, but he still treats me like a kid. Sure, like my own dad he denied that I was gay, but he didn't change his attitude towards me. Although he does find my personality obnoxious he and Shera can tolerate me, even if we do get into arguements about the way he treats her sometimes. I do think he cares for her on the inside, I mean he did sacrifice his dream to save her. I remember saying that to him in an arguement and he totally denied having any feelings for her. I know he really does care about her though.

Red is kinda weird, though. He's very quiet and I don't really talk to him all that much. He's a nice guy though, he observes a lot but he doesn't voice his thoughts. His grandpa is really cool; Red really respects the guy and I can see that. I might be wrong but I think he had a small dislike to us, not entirely sure why. Wasn't he stuck in Shinra when he met the group? ... Yeah if he was I can see why he'd have a dislike for us after being stuck in the labs there.

That Cait Sith is really weird too, I mean a robotic cat fortune teller? I don't really know why he's with us so I see little point talking to him. He kind of got on my nerves sometimes but I'm sure he was okay. He was kind of helpful but I sort of thought he got in the way sometimes. I think sometimes he was more irritating than me. He tried to tell my fortune once but I wasn't for having it. If I wanted my fortune told I would have took my tarot cards from Rocket Town and done it myself.

Hm... well Yuffie was just a natural pain in the backside. She's cheery and bubbly, but by Alice Marie she's such a klepto. She gave the Materia back and all but I think everyone is incredibly mistrusting of her now. Everyone's kind of giving her the silent treatment. I think now she really wants to prove that she's reliable and all the fights with monsters we've had she's been beating them senseless. I kind of commend her on her determination.

Now... that Vincent guy. Hardly talks. When he does it's to Angie. I guess if she wasn't with us he wouldn't have joined. What's his deal anyway? He said he was a Turk but that was about it, and that he knew Angie when she was younger? What exactly happened anyway? And Sephiroth was born around that time too? Can't ever really imagine a baby Sephiroth. Plus both of them seem to really hate Hojo. Well, Angie seems to harbour more fear than Vincent does. He's a bit moody, too, but he's always spending his time around Angie. He was kind of good looking, but definately not my kind of guy.

You know, Angie actually wasn't all that bad although she has extreme fatal flaws. She hides her alcohol dependancy quite well, but I guess carrying around secrets has become second nature to her. Eh, the thing was that she really cares about Christie and she wants to be her friend, but the feeling really isn't all that mutual. She was a strange person, but she's far more mature than Christie. She was incredibly protective of that Silver Materia, perhaps because it's the only thing she has left of Fina. Oblivion told me to never let her out of my sight, and he was right; Angie may have been a competent person, but inside she was still a scared little child who just needs someone to rely on.

Christie wasn't really helping with that, though. Stubborn, slightly heartless and proud to a serious fault. I think it may be her way of getting back at Angie for abandoning her or something like that. There are times when Christie can't see past the end of her own nose. She isn't capable of seeing past her own feelings and disregards Angie's emotions at every oppertunity, as well as smashing her confidence. Now, Christie is a lovely person, but sometimes you really just want her to stop being such a selfish bitch.

Wow, that actually killed a lot of time. Cloud had now gotten out of the Arena exhausted and a bit beaten up. Aw, he was so hot when he looked like that. Thing was that he was very closed off and a little cold. Although he doesn't show it on his face, because he's so stoic, he shows a lot of emotion in his eyes. Sometimes there's so many that you can't be sure what he's feeling. Tifa and Aerith are the only ones who actually can get him to talk about anything other than Sephiroth. I think that he and Christie are kind of alike on some level, although I can't exactly put my finger on what.

And then of course there's me. I tell people the honest truth and I hurt people because of it. I can't keep secrets from people, that's not who I am. I know they're used to all their secrets and they can't even handle simple truths anymore. I don't think people should keep secrets from one another; it would be better if they just knew exactly what was going on. That's why I'm kind of irritated at Oblivion. He didn't say anything but to watch over his niece. I know nothing other than I'll find my sister. Sometimes I felt as though I just being used. I was thrown into this because Oblivion said I'd find her. Seven years since the first time he said that, and still nothing. There were times where I got so... angry... with Oblivion, my sister... myself... I was meant to be the older brother and I was meant to look after her.

I may not like keeping secrets but I have a hard time expressing how I'm feeling inside. I hide my pain by acting cheerful and unaffected by people's insults and anger directed towards me. I guess it was just to protect my own feelings or something. The only person I could express my fears to was Ghost, she was my best friend. I was determined to find her, though. Family always came first for me. If my sister's hurt... I don't know what I'd do...


	45. Traitor

Traitor

I can't feckin' believe this! After all this shit we're stuck in this place _again_! The stupid tram broke down and we're stuck in this fucking place until it gets fixed! Thing is I have to get stuck in a room with Yuffie _and_ Omen! Dunno where Yuffie is, but Omen been in the bathroom for ages and I'm just lying on my bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Omen! You ever coming out of there?" I called, slightly irritated. A few moments later Omen came out of the bathroom. I sat up and looked at him. He looked flushed and his face was a little red, and his clothes were slightly disheaveled. I raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly walked over to his own bed, looking away from me slightly. His breathing was a little heavier than usual and I noticed that his eyes had were slightly glazed over when he left the bathroom. We remained in silence as Omen got undressed down to his boxers and went under his blankets before he looked at me.

"... What?" He asked, face going red.

"... You're disgusting," I stated. He knew fully well what I meant.

"Oh come on like you've never done it!" He immediantly defended. I gave him an expressionless face. "... Have you?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Hey, there's no shame in it, I mean you've got needs." My narrowed eyes turned into a glare. Why was he still talking? "Seriously, you can't just expect someone go months on end without getting any to not do a little something, right? It's not right."

"But in a hotel room?" I asked. "You aware how thin these walls could be?"

"I'm quiet when I want to be," Omen grinned. "But honestly, when was the last time you had sex, huh?" ... What? "Well, I'm guessing you've had sex otherwise I wouldn't be sensing a lot of sexual frustration in your system." What the fuck!? Okay this guy is getting a black eye in a minute!

"Why don't you shut up?" I growled. Omen was unaffected by it, however, blinking slightly.

"See? I bet you'd much more pleasant if you got rid of all that tension," He stated nonchalantly. Wait... is he... ew, no way.

"I'd never have sex with you, so piss off!" I yelled. Omen seemed taken aback and shuddered slightly.

"Sorry, you're a gorgerous girl and all, but I prefer a less agressive partner," He stated, before continuing quickly. "And partners who have a penis..." ... ... Oh. I had to say I was... mildly surprised.

"Right..." I blinked for a moment. Omen then burst into laughter. Wow this guy is a weirdo.

"C'mon! You always knew, I bet!" He said between laughs. I just gave him a shrug.

"Kind of, I mean I kinda suspected it, but honestly," I crossed my arms as I paused. "I really didn't care about it." Omen just gave a shrug and stopped laughing, looking me in the eye with a small smile of amusement.

"Can understand that, Chris," He said. "But anyways," Ugh I can see where he's going with this, so I turned and headed for the door. "Hey, where you going?" I ignored him and left the room.

* * *

That weird perverted freak! Why he was trying to pry into my business again? That was far too personal! Ugh, that man was so disgusting! Why did I have to share a room with him!? Okay, okay, don't dwell on it. Just kick him the next time he goes on about it. I do _not_ want to know what he does behind closed doors. And he shouldn't want to know what I do!

I turned around a corner and bumped into a person I was least expecting, that weird guy we found in Nibelheim, Vincent Valentine. I hadn't ever spoken to him since he joined, since he's too busy hanging around with Angie, who is currently my least favourite person, Omen being slightly more tolerable but coming in at a close second. He stared down at me silently and I stared back, both of our expressions completely blank.

"... Can't sleep?" I asked, showing no tone of interest. Vincent stared at me for a few seconds before walking past me. I folded my arms and scoffed. "Gee, you're pleasant. No wonder you and Angie get along so well." I turned and found that he had stopped walking away and turned to face me.

"What do you have against her?" He asked. I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter from the stupid question. He really has missed so much.

"Hm, this may take a while, but I suppose you have time," After that we walked outside of the hotel and I began to explain my side of the story, as I was pretty sure Angie may have given her side. As I had suspected he remained silent the whole way through, his expression occassionally changing to slight confusion or a frown. He was really silent, which I wasn't quite sure how to take.

"What happened to Oblivion and Fina?" Vincent asked eventually. I sighed and leaned on the railing, looking out into the desert view.

"Oblivion... feck knows where he is," I replied. "And Fina died. I thought you'd know that, Angie must have told you," I scoffed and didn't look at his reaction; he didn't respond. "Or she telling you fuck all too?"

"... She's told me about you," He said eventually. Well that's a great help. "She regrets everything she's done to you," Well she should, the bitch.

"She's probably in the bar getting drunk then," I scowled, flicking my hair back. From the corner of my eye I could see Vincent turn to me. His face was pretty much blank but then again I wasn't looking at him so I couldn't really tell. "She wallows in self-pity and then she tries to get all high and mighty because she's revealed her real name. She thinks that everything else will just be forgotten about and then everything will be fine again!"

"If she was here, right now, what would you say to her?" Vincent asked me. That she was a co-dependant alcoholic bitch who didn't care about anyone's feelings or how much she hurt her 'best friend' and completely made my life into a constant fight against some fucking enemy that wants to do fuck knows what to this world!

"She ruined my life, simply put," I stated harshly. "She expects me just to fight all the fucking time. She always expects me to be there, no questions asked."

"As her friend... that should be part of your job," Vincent replied. Tch, well she should try to be a friend back. In fact...

"I'd rather have her out of my life," I told him. It was the truth. There are days that I wish I hadn't ever met her.

We heard a stumble from behind us and turned around. Cait Sith was walking out of the hotel on his weird Mog thing, holding that Keystone Cloud got from the Battle Square in his paw. What the feck? Cait Sith then quietly walked down the steps of the hotel entrance.

"Hey, Cait!" I yelled, jumping over the railing, chasing after him as he ran. Soon Vincent was running beside me as we chased the robotic cat down through the Gold Saucer. This was not how I wanted to spend my night! Cait Sith had been chased through the entire fucking place before we caught him at the Chocobo Square where a helicopter was coming in towards us.

"I-I'm really sorry Christie!" Cait Sith stammered as he tossed the Keystone to a person in the helicopter. It was... one of those Turks! That Tseng guy!

"What the fuck Cait!?" I yelled at the robot. "First Yuffie and now you!? How many fucking backstabbers are there!?"

"Listen! I can explain!" Cait Sith defended. I snarled but Vincent put a hand on my shoulder and I shoved him off, but he grabbed my shoulder more firmly before I could do anything to maim the stupid robot! "O-okay, I'm a spy for Shinra, alright?"

"Really? Never knew that!" I snarled. "So you thought you could get away with this and we'd look the other way as if it never happened!?" I clenched my fists up and galred intensly. "I should just rip you apart right now!"

"There'd be no point!" Cait Sith retorted. "This ain't my real body, anyway, me real body's at Shinra," What!? Oh feck that; at least I'd blow off some steam ripping the thing to shreds. "Although somethin's been botherin' me... you all risk your lives to save the world, even though you don't get praised or paid to do it. It just makes me think about my life, you know?"

... I didn't want praise or money or anything. I just did it because I had to, because I was made to do it. The first time I thought I'd go home at the end, the second time because I wanted to protect my new home... third time around... I have no home to save, I've got nothing to lose. Why am I even fighting? I could have easily stopped at any point but I still kept going.

At that moment I realised why...

This was what I was _born_ to do. You don't get called upon to save worlds three times over out of coincidence. You're called upon because that's what you were _meant_ to do. You were _meant_ to protect the world. You were _born_ to be a hero. I wasn't a Connection. I'm a Guardian. A Guardian to this Planet. A Guardian to the future's fate.

... And even if I didn't want to be, I was a Guardian of Angevale, too.

* * *

Hmm... One year today I started this story and I'm on the exact halfway point. Birthday, Anniversay and reaching halfway all rolled into one. That's quite impressive, if I must say so myself.


	46. The Temple

The Temple

I couldn't believe it when I heard it. Cait Sith was working for Shinra? That... that was why he came with us. He had no other reason. Now Shinra had kidnapped Marlene and were using her as leverage, so we had to do what Cait Sith said. And he said we had to go to the Temple of the Ancients.

We all stood in front of it, the Temple stood in the middle of a deep forest in the South. I felt as though we were hostages in this situation. Cait Sith stood in front of us and looked about the area, probably scanning and sending images back to Shinra.

I could feel a strange sensation as I stood there, but I wasn't too sure what it was. Aerith looked around, as though she was trying to focus on something. If this was a Temple built by the Ancients... then does that mean I'll learn of my powers as a Cetra here?

"Angie... can you hear them?" Aerith asked me. I looked at her and tried to listen... nothing...

"No... I don't hear anything..." I told her, lowering my head. The best I could hear was mumbling, but I couldn't pick out any words. Why was this? Was it the part of Jenova that was inside of me? Was it interfering with my powers? "Aerith... Jenova killed the Cetra... didn't it?" Aerith remained silent, I assumed that she was talking to the spirits that lingered here.

"... They say that Jenova killed most of them before being sealed away," She told me. "They're uneasy, but happy we're here."

"... They're uneasy because Jenova is inside of me..." I told her. "I can't hear them because I think Jenova may be destroying a part of me... the Cetra part of me..." Jenova must have been killing me. All of this time... laying dormant and killing part of me silently. And I only realised until now. That must have been why I degraded all those years ago, I was weaker then and it tried to kill me. But if Jenova is killing the Cetra part of me...

Can I really be called a Cetra?

"Right, so will we go in then?" Cait Sith suddenly said, turning to us. Cloud looked at the group for a moment in silence, trying to decide something.

"We're not all going in," He stated. "We need some of us to guard the entrance in case there's an ambush."

"No point, little spy over there will know that and they'll work a way around that plan," Christie said bitterly. Cloud sighed at her comment, realising she had a point.

"I'll go in then," Cait Sith tried to compromise.

"Angie and I will go too, we're Cetra so it only makes sense," Aerith added. I didn't want to voice my feelings so I nodded in agreement.

"Right, the rest of you wait out here, the more of us outside of the Temple the better," Cloud nodded and took the four of us into the Temple.

Inside the Temple was filled with murals and lit dimmly by flickering flames. It was cold as well, and I had a bad feeling that we were being watched... I clasped my hands together and wrung them as the four of us headed inside. We could hear grumbling and groaning that echoed along the walls and a chill crawled up my spine. I stayed close to Aerith as we made our way to the main hall, only to find a man in a Turk uniform lying against the alter, blood spilling from his chest.

"Tseng!" Aerith cried and rushed towards him. He seemed to have been impaled with a sword and left for dead. It was obvious not only Shinra was here, but Sephiroth, too.

"Ugh..." Tseng groaned, losing consiousness. "Sephiroth... he was... talking about... Black Materia..." Black Materia? If Sephiroth wanted it then it clearly was something we had to keep away from him. Tseng held out the Keystone and Cloud took it from him. "On the... alter..." Aerith cast a healing spell that managed to close the wound over, but he still went unconsious from blood loss.

"What should we, Cloud?" Aerith asked, looking up at him. Cloud stared at Tseng for a moment, figuring out what to do.

"... Cait Sith, get him out of here and let the others keep an eye on him," Cloud ordered. Cait Sith complied with the request and took the unconsious Turk outside.

"Does this mean Sephiroth is waiting for us?" I asked quietly, looking down at the ground.

"... Probably. If he is, we'll take him out," Cloud answered. How could we take him out? He was powerful on the Cargo Ship, and in Nibelhiem we were still no match for him.

* * *

_Oblivion's POV_

The Temple had never been populated by Cetra worshippers, I don't see why anyone would want to worship the ultimate destructive Magick. The Cetra had the correct idea to abandon this place, out of the reaches of humans. Until Shinra found it.

Sighing I walked towards the model of the Temple, staring at it for a moment. I was tempted to touch it but held back, sensing that it wouldn't be a good idea.

"And who might you be?" I heard a voice say, I turned around and stared at the silver haired man. I wasn't fazed by his presence, and he frowned as he sensed that I wasn't intimidated.

"The mighty Sephiroth... and so we meet again," I bowed my head in a sort of respect to the man. "You've clearly grown since I last saw you."

"Hmph... Mother has told me of you," Sephiroth replied coldly. "And your wife... one of the Ancients who took this Planet away from her." My eyebrow raised slightly, but other than that I showed no other expression of surprise. "Soon, Mother and I will eradicate the rest of those vermin, then we will rid this world of all those who took the Planet from her."

"Charming," I said, turning my head to look at the murals. "And the Calamity of the Skies will fester within the Planet, causing it to die and become its vessel. Or perhaps you have a different method?"

"The Black Materia..." Sephiroth muttered, raising his blade and indicating to a mural with a rock falling onto the Planet. "And Meteor will collide with Gaia, threatening the very life of the Planet... and in the center on that wound will be me." Sephiroth then started to chuckle to himself and I glared at him.

"And what do you plan to do once Meteor has hit?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"I will be a new existance... I will be a God," Sephiroth laughed. I stared at him expressionlessly. "And with my new power, I will kill all those who hurt my Mother..." He raised his blade, the point of it just under my chin. "The first being those worthless Cetra."

"You wouldn't dare..." I suddenly felt cold metal slide through my abdomen, Sephiroth approaching me and pushing the blade in further.

"Mother said you would be a problem," He scoffed. I didn't break eye contact with him, his cold eyes showing malice and hate.

"And what will you do? Kill me?" Sephiroth frowned, still glaring a little. He pulled the blade from my body and I fell to my knees, standing up and holding my stomach. "I thought as much." I got onto my feet and headed towards the door.

"Memento mori..." Sephiroth muttered. I heard those words spoken to me years ago. I gritted my teeth but said nothing, as when I turned around he had suddenly gone. He... couldn't have been an illusion. He was planning to use Meteor, and he was going to use any means possible.

* * *

I remained hidden outside of the Temple after that encounter, and from where I was I had both the Temple and the people outside it within my line of sight. I could clearly see Christie pacing around with impatience, and Omen rubbing his arm and looking around nervously. The man in black and red seemed familliar... I couldn't see his face, but I knew I had seen him before. My instincts said it was Vincent, but if it was he had certianly changed since last I had seen him.

My wound was healing as I remained there, but I had to lean against a tree to support myself. My niece... Angie was throwing herself into much more trouble than needed, and she was dragging Christie and Omen down with her. I couldn't be there for her, if I was near her it would be killing two birds with one stone. The Superiors would kill me and then take her life as well...

I'm not sure how Christie feels about this, but from her posture and gait she seems to be very frustrated. For Omen he seemed to be more anxious, looking around as though the group was being watched. Heh, well they kind of were.

My emotions were in turmoil. I couldn't be there for the little family I had left, and if I was that meant putting her in grave danger. The only way to keep her safe was to stay away from her. I couldn't take it. The Superiors were keeping me away from my family. That was _my_ niece and _I _was meant to be there, not have a Phantom act on my behalf.

I watched as the Temple started shrinking and the group start to panic. Looking I could just make out three figures standing at the Temple. Quickly I made my way towards the Temple area and found Angie standing at the edge, watching as two of her comrades descend into the hole. I kept hidden from her, even though all I wanted to do was hug her and tell her everything would be alright... but I have to keep my distance now... it's the only way to keep her safe. I'm a danger to her... and I hate that.

Before I knew it Sephiroth was there. Angie fell to her hands and knees and began screaming out in pain. I couldn't get close to her, I had to keep my distance. I couldn't hear anything but her screams. I clenched my hands into fists with boiling rage. I wouldn't allow myself to be useless to Angie. I can't distance myself from her... but... it will hurt her less...

I watched as my niece fell unconsious and Sephiroth leave. I took the oppertunity to take a Lunar Harp and run to Angie, crouching down beside her an turning her onto her back. By Gaia she's grown so much... I placed the Lunar Harp down by her body as I heard her friends coming. I wished so much that I could help... but I had to stay away. I just had to stay away from her. She... should be used to me not being there for her. Even though it tore me apart inside.


	47. Forced Into It

Forced Into It

"Listen Mary, I cannae work tonight... look I just can't!" I yelled down the phone in an irritated tone. "Yer no makin' this easy fer me! I jist cannae make it so can ye cover my shift?" I don't even know why I'm friends wi' this cow, she really gets on my tits.

_"Nevi, I'm no coverin' yer shift the night, I've done it fer the past week!" _Mary snapped back at me. I rolled my eyes, not that'd she'd see me.

"And I don't give a damn," I told her. "Ye know wit? Fuck you Mary, I've got me own problems tae worry about!" I slammed the phone down and rubbed my temples. Ever since Cissnei arrived I've been so fucked up and paranoid, just like five year ago! She hasn't been around since but I have such a horrible feeling that's been hanging over my shoulder. I'm scared tae go tae work, I cannae go anywhere without thinking I'm being followed...

I started tae walk around my flat, wondering if I was bein' stupid. Probably was, I could handle this if I tried, instead of runnin' away like a coward. I'm no coward, I just pick me battles. Still, what Cissnei said about Loveless really got me head in a spin. How could a Goddess be coming? I though the Battle of the Beasts had happened, I thought the promise... I thought it was done. I thought all of this was over. I thought it ended in Gongaga! That's where it was supposed to end! It shouldn't be happening... she must have been saying that just to trick me...

I jumped slightly when I heard a knock on the door. I slowly walked towards it and looked through the peephole. Four people were standing there, all in Turk uniforms. Three I reconised as Cissnei, Reno and Rude... but the fourth one was probably new, I've never seen her before... although she did kind of look like-

"Nevina! We know you're in there!" Cissnei yelled and I backed away from the door. I panicked and locked the door before running into my room and opening the door. I'm so glad my flat's on the fifth floor! Okay Nev calm down...

The door banged open and I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. I had become frozen in place, I tried to move but my body just wouldn't let me. Oh dear Goddess... what am I gonna do!?

"Nevina! We're not letting you get away!" Cissnei forced the door open and the four of them stood in front of me, the bed being the only thing separating us. I blinked twice, slightly shocked that they'd send all the Turks after me. Fuck I'm in big trouble...

"I told ya! I'm not going anywhere wi' you!" I yelled, staying put in my place. "I don't care about Loveless or any of that shit! I've done my bit in this and I'm not gonnae have my life taken from me again!"

"I don't care about that Nevina!" Cissnei snapped back. "Orders are orders and you're coming with us!"

"And you're gonnae do anythin' to get me to come wi' you?" I asked, backing away into the wall. "Are you lot thick or somethin'? What happened then has _nothing_ to do with what's happening now!"

"... You're wrong," Cissnei held up her gun and aimed at me, firing at my neck. I yelped in pain from it and realised... that... it was a... dart... fuck...

* * *

When I woke up all I could see were blurred figures, some in black, some white and some differently coloured. I was sitting up, but on the ground, and I couldn't move my arms or upper body. I struggled slightly and groaned. Fuck I'm buggered now...

"So you're the one," I seen three people walk towards me, one in a white suit, one in a white lab coat and the third was Cissnei. It was the man in the white suit who spoke. I looked up at him and gaped slightly at his appearance. Blond hair, blue eyes... holy shit. Guess what I had heard was right...

"Rufus Shinra?" I looked at him, getting pulled up to my feet by Cissnei. "Guessin' you gave the order to nab me then?"

"Well, you had gotten my old man's interest seven years ago... so now you have also gotten mine," He said smoothly. I just narrowed my eyes at him.

"What do you think I know?" I snapped. "I got caught up in this by accident!" At that moment the man in the lab coat stood forward. Wait... Professor Hojo? Hmph, I've never met the bastard in person.

"So, Nevina Sinclair... hmm... yes I've heard much of you from some of our... former employees," He mumbled, looking up at Cissnei at the last part. The two of us knew what he meant... my best friend. "Now dear, I hope you're certainly as useful as I hope you are."

"I only help me friends; not Shinra scum!" I snapped at the old man. He frowned slightly, but then laughed.

"Hm, perhaps she'll be more co-operative once we reach the Northern Crater," The Northern Crater? Why would I... unless...

"Very well, perhaps she'll tell us of the Promised Land once we arrive," Rufus then turned and left, followed by Hojo. Wait they think _I_ know about the Promised Land!? Is _that_ wit this is about!?

Cissnei let go of me and started walking away, but I had to keep her here for answers.

"Cissnei," I called, but she continued on her way. "Cissnei," I tried again, louder this time. I got madder and snapped at her. "So you're just gonnae walk away!? Like you did when Linda died!? Like when your friends and comrades fought Jade Weapon!? They saved your sorry arse and you just walk away from that!?" I walked towards her when I noticed she stopped. "What if more Weapons come about because of this!? Are you gonnae walk away from that too!?"

She spun around and smacked me with the back of her hand, causing me to fall down. It hurt a lot more since I couldn't put me hands in front of me to soften the landing.

"Shut up Nevina!" She yelled. "It's not as easy as you think!"

"Then why can't you fucking stand up fer yoursel'?" I asked her. "You want to be free and yet you're still working fer them? ... Why?" Cissnei didn't answer me, she walked away and then locked the door. I sat up and groaned. This... I can't believe this is happening...


	48. The Sleeper

The Sleeper

"Angevale?" I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a pathway, white trees around the area and it was dark. I couldn't see much of anything, but I couldn't shake the feeling of some sort of nostalgia around here. I've... never been here before though...

"Who's there?" I asked weakly. I couldn't see anyone or anything in this darkness, but I could hear footsteps, and they were getting louder.

"It's Aerith, silly," The Cetra approached me with her hands behind her back, smiling at me. "Well, I'm glad you're here." I looked around again, still feeling nostalgia creep over me.

"Where... are we... exactly?" I asked, not looking at Aerith.

"This is the Sleeping Forest," Aerith explained. "It's where I'm heading... it leads to home," I looked at her, an expression of confusion across my face. "The City of the Ancients, well, the Forgotten City now... once the Cetra left no one has inhabited the place. But I feel like I have to go there... don't you feel the same?" I stared at her silently. The only place I've felt drawn to was Nibelheim...

"No," I said truthfully. "I don't." Aerith frowned at this and remained quiet for a while.

"Well, your Cetra powers have been dormant, so maybe they just need time to grow," She reasoned. "Until then, I'm the only one who can stop Sephiroth."

"What?" I asked her. She was the only one? What about the rest of us? "I thought we were all together because we could stop him that way?"

"Angevale it's okay," Aerith smiled. "It will be okay, once I stop Sephiroth, I'll come back. Until then you'll just have to wait."

I didn't know how to respond to that. She was leaving us behind? And she couldn't fight Sephiroth alone, she just couldn't. He's too powerful, even with all of our power combined. Aerith had been so caring towards us and now she's leaving? That... isn't right... she's our friend... she helped us so much, she's one of us. I don't understand why she's leaving us behind. It... it's not... not fair...

"Do me one favour, please?" Aerith put a hand on my shoulder and stared me in the eyes. "Don't follow me. Sephiroth seems to be drawn to you more than he is to me..." ... Because I have Jenova's DNA inside of me... just like him...

I looked away for a moment. Aerith wasn't meant to leave, she was one of us... And I can't just not follow her... but if what she said is true then I could provide a distraction for Sephiroth while she stopped him. And perhaps get my own answers this time around.

When I looked back up I realised that Aerith was no longer there, leaving me alone in that place. I started to walk forward unsurely, not making any sound, holding my breath as I made my way down the path. The path seemed to be endless and I soon found myself walking faster as time went on. Eventually I broke into a run, trying to find a destination out of the endless forest. I didn't stop running, I just couldn't...

... I suppose that's the story of my life...

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I looked around me, finding myself on a bed, unaware of where I was. I sat up and stared ahead, seeing both Omen and Christie conversing, the latter jabbing the former in the chest with a disgruntled expression. To be fair it was more of an arguement than a discussion. Well Omen seemed to be handling her to the best of his ability. I stood up and walked closer to them, hearing ther hushed arguement.

"Listen, Aerith would be here if those idiots actually managed to stop Sephiroth!" Christie snapped, leaning in closer to intimidate Omen. He only seemed slightly phased though, however.

"It's no one's fault. Aerith was not kidnapped she went of her own free will," He replied, obviously trying to keep his calm. "Honestly you are so damn proud why can't you just accept the fact that it's no one's fault this time."

"Yeah well we have to stay here until that bitch wakes up, then she'll probably be wallowing in self pity like she always does!"

"That 'bitch' is already awake," I inteerupted coldly, giving Christie a bitter look as I approached them. "And I know where Aerith is going."

"... Lovely," Christie clearly rolled her eyes and was about to turn to walk away.

"She's going home... to the City of the Ancients," I said. Christie had her back turned to me and her arms folded, making me roll my eyes in contempt. "She told me not to follow her; that she needs to do this on her own."

"Surprise, surprise, you won't follow," Christie snarled under her breath.

"If you would let me _finish_," I snarled back. "I'm going to follow her. I may not be as much of a Cetra as she is, but this is our fight and we should be doing this together."

"Yeah, uhh, you better go tell Cloud that because he's freaking out and worrying about Aerith," Omen quickly stated, pushing me out of the room. "He's downstairs, with Tifa and Barret and stuff!" I was slightly confused, but went downstairs anyway. As long as I was away from Christie. She's nothing but a bitter little hussy who had nothing better to do than cut me down to make herself feel better.

"Angevale," I turned around slowly to see Vincent leaning against the wall, arms folded. He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards me, which made my throat close up as I looked up at him. Well is wasn't too hard to look up at him as we were around the same height. "You... you've changed... a lot..." I knew what he meant by that.

"... Christie brings out the worst in me," I had no excuse in reality. Yet I still made one. I felt just like her when I did that. It felt horrible pinning blame on others when the fault was your own...

"You know that isn't the reason," Darn. He knows me too well. "... I don't remember you being like this. What happened?" I looked away from him, feeling as though I was being stabbed in the heart. He... didn't like the person I had become...

"... I grew up..." I stated, not being able to look at his face. To be honest... I don't like the person I've become either...

Vincent remained silent, but I could feel his eyes staring straight into me. He was disappointed. I knew he was.

"When you believe that... look me in the eye and say it," He then walked off, leaving the words to sink into me. Maybe... no... he was definately right... I really did need to grow up.


	49. What Friends Are For

What Friends Are For

We had travelled for so long. Sometimes we were worried we were getting lost. But the path with the white trees became known to us. I remembered the path clearly from my conversation with Aerith. Because of the Lunar Harp we had the path didn't seem as endless.

Now we stood in front of the City of the Ancients. To be honest it was less climatic than I had assumed it would be. It was completely barren. there wasn't any sign of Aerith, or where she could have gone. We all stayed together as we searched empty houses as the sun went down, and we reached a house that had several beds in it. At this point we had decided to rest as we were far too tired, and if Sephiroth was following then we had to be ready to fight him.

As for me I couldn't sleep at all. Aerith was technically the last Cetra alive. I had to find her and make sure she was okay. While everyone was asleep I continued looking around the city, calling out for Aerith every now and again, getting no reply other than a faint echo of my voice. It was frustrating, I had to find her. Or was I leading Sephiroth to her...?

"So you couldn't sleep?" I heard a sneer to the right of me, so I turned my head and glared at Christie. She had her arms crossed, leaning on a broken pillar. She was always so bitter, even in small talk. "Trying to be all high and mighty? You're just gonna lead Sephiroth to her."

"And what do you suggest I do? Sleep soundly while one of our friends are in danger?" I snapped back. Christie didn't even flinch. She stood up straight, unfolded her arms and walked towards me. "Well?"

"Oh please, don't you start on that shit with me, hypocrite," Christie advanced towards me. "Why don't you just leave Aerith for a year or two? I'm sure she'll understand the reason why," I felt my hand clench into a fist as she got closer and spoke louder. "Better yet, why don't you throw into an even more complex situation and see if she sinks or swims?" She was getting even closer to me now.

"Why don't you learn to put it in past and leave it be?" I snarled. This didn't stop Christie's verbal assult, however.

"Leave it be? Oh sure, I'll leave it be," She responded with venomous sarcasm. "Just like you've done? That you forget that your Aunt experimented on you? You accept that? Or that your precious Uncle Oblivion is never there for you and he gave you those fucking scars on your fa-" She was cut off by me hurling my fist into her face, making contact with her left eye, breaking through the Looking Glass. She crashed to the ground and I pulled a shard of the Looking Glass from my fist and glowered at her, my teeth bared like a vicious hound.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my family that way!" I barked, leaning over her and preparing myself to strike at her again. "How _dare_ you talk about my Uncle that way!?" Christie kicked me in the shins and I fell to my knees. She gripped my shoulder with her right hand, nails digging deep into my skin, drawing out blood.

"How dare _I_!?" She exclaimed with outrage, nails digging deeper into me. "How fucking dare you say that!? You're a fucked up little skank who thinks so highly of a man who injured and abandoned her when he was the only family she had left!" I looked up at her. Her left hand covering her left eye, but I could clearly see the blood dripping down her face. "Oh yes, how fucking dare _I _cross the oh-so precious Angevale Rhapsodos, the Threat to the Superiors, how fucking dare _I_!"

She lunged at me and got me on my back, dropping her fist downwards and the only way for me to avoid it was my turning my head to the side out of reflex. Her fist left a crack in the stone and she raised her fist again. I quickly blasted a fireball into her face and slid out from underneath her, but Christie had also stood up and pounced on me, and I recklessly grabbed her by the throat and choked her. The colour drained from her face as she lost oxygen. She then thrusted her foot into my stomach and I let her go, putting my arms over my abdomen.

Christie gasped for air before kicking me in the head and began to return the choking favour, only she dug her nails into my skin again, piercing it and making her cough desperately for air. I could barely struggle and was close to passing out.

The next thing I knew was an icicle being blasted towards us and shattering against the ground by us, the shockwave throwing us apart. I landed on my side and gasped, looking up at the owner of the attack.

"Stop it the both of you!" Omen shouted, his posture seething with anger and frustration. Both Christie and I stood up and stared at him. "What in fuck's name is going on here!?" Before we could even open our mouths to blame one another, he cut us off in a snarl that was out of his character. "You know what? I don't even want to hear it! I am _sick_ of you two!"

The fact that Omen, who had always seem calm and collected, had now been pushed over the edge and was now recklessly yelling at us. He was now punishing us with even harsher truths than before.

"All you do is constantly hate and bitch about each other despite everything you've been through together!" He yelled, his gestures and posture were as loud and as furious as his words. His eyes darted to Christie: his first victim. "Look at yourself Christie! Would you even be as strong a person as you are now without Angie's help!?" Christie opened her mouth but Omen scared her words away. "Don't interrupt me!" He bellowed, making her shrink back a little. It had been a long time since I had seen Christie intimidated. "All you've done is home in on Angie's flaws and disregarded everything she'd done for you! You know what some friend you are, really, I'm glad you're such a good friend," His words there were dripping with sarcasm, and Christie tried to defend herself by glaring at him, but he didn't flinch or care. "Glare all you want because I'm not afriad of you! That's your problem! She's constantly trying to extend her hand in friendship and you just break her wrist every time!" Christie had actually flinched at his scorn, and it was obvious her heart was banging against her chest.

Then, Omen diverted his attention from her and focused on me.

"And you, Miss Alcohol Dependant, you've had it rough, we all have, but by Alice Marie you can't use that as your excuse because the novelty has worn off sweetheart!" His voice rose with even more frustration, I was surprised that the rest of them hadn't found us. "You want to make a change? Then why don't you stop waiting for Christie or whoever it is to come around and you do something about it!" I felt frightened by his scolding, and my heart was about to leap out of my chest. "You know what neither of you are good friends to one another!" He looked at Christie, pointing an accusing finger at her. "You're too proud," He then did the same action to me, "And you're too busy drowning in self pity! You are both hopeless!" He took in deep breaths and glared both of us in the eye at the same time. "Christie why don't you just get off your high horse and see it from her point of view for once and you Angie..." He sighed and shook his head. "Hope didn't abandon you... you abandoned it..." He sighed again, but traces of anger were contained in his now hushed voice. "Why don't you both stop being idiots and realise that you care about each other?" He turned heel and walked away from us. Even though he had left his words echoed in our heads. And it was scary.

It wasn't the fact that he was yelling and growling at us that was scary. It was the fact that it was all the damn truth.

I looked over to Christie, who had both her hands at her sides, her hands shaking and her breath wavering. I could see dark liquid dripping off her face. She took off the Looking Glass and placed it on her belt. She then turned to me, and I felt tears in my eyes.

Christie's right eye still glowed strongly with Aura, but her left eye bled furiously, a shard of the Looking Glass lodged inside it. My jaw dropped at the sight. How could she stand that pain? I walked towards her and lifted my hand to her bleeding eye, but she backed away from me, covering her left eye.

We didn't exchange words. We only silent stared at one another. That is until I felt my body stiffen up and look off into another direction. I... could sense something... it was familiar...

"... He's here..." I whispered, staring at the large building to the west. Christie, hand still over eye, looked in the same direction and remained silent for a few moments before sighing.

"We'll save her. It's what we came here to do," She stated. How was she not caring for her injury? She then turned to me, her voice firm and serious. "Well what did you think we'd come here for? Beating the shit out of each other? We came to find Aerith and stop Sephiroth, we've got time to deal with this later." She started to make her way towards the central part of the city before turning to me. "Well? This is the reason why you couldn't sleep right?"

Admittedly, I was shocked at Christie immediate change in perspective. She didn't even care for the shard in her eye. But... was seemed scarier was that... with that one eye glowing... it reminded me too much of what I had become.


	50. Stop the Saviour

Stop The Saviour

All of this was happening too fast...

I didn't have time to take it all in as it happened. It all came at once. There _wasn't_ any time to register it all. All I knew was that... Cloud was standing in front of Aerith... he had told us to wait here... away from the altar...

I tried to focus on the others, trying to convince myself tha it would be okay. But it wasn't okay. It simply wasn't. Omen was furious at Christie and I for acting immature and childish. Vincent wouldn't even look at me. I had injured Christie beyond repair. I didn't even _want_ to look at the others. So I turned back to the altar.

Cloud was standing there motionless as Aerith was on her knees, her hands clasped together in preyer. The sword on Cloud's back, the Buster Sword, glimmered in the light for a moment before Cloud stepped forward; closer to Aerith.

_She's in the way..._

I blinked for a moment, searching frantically for the owner of the voice. I looked to the altar again. Cloud had the Buster Sword drawn. He gripped onto it tightly.

_We have to deal with her, Cloud..._

The voice sent shivers to my spine. It was... why was it talking to Cloud? And... why was I hearing it?

_It's the only way to put an end to this..._

Cloud raised the Buster Sword slowly until it was above his head and held it there... above Aerith's head...

And that's when it clicked... Cloud is a Soldier... Soldiers have Jenova Cells inside them... I have Jenova Cells inside me as well...

I felt a pulse of anger surge through me. That voice belonged to Sephiroth...

_You know what you must do..._

And he...

"Angie!?" I heard Christie yell as I ran full speed towards the altar. I had to stop him before he did anything!

_Kill her!_

"Cloud what are you doing!?" I screamed before Cloud could drive the blade into Aerith. He froze as he realised what he had been doing. I could see his hands tremble as the sword dropped to down, clanged against the ground and breaking the horrible tense silence... if only for a moment...

I stepped forward as I heard and seen the others stand beside me. The silence covered us all again as Aerith lifted her head, opening her eyes to stare up at Cloud.

It wasn't a confused stare as to why he was here. It wasn't shocked or horrified at the evidence of her near demise. It was... happy...

I never understood _why_ she was happy. I never did. She was just smiling at Cloud. I... didn't understand anything at the moment... everything was just... it didn't seem right...

Everything just slowed down suddenly. I couldn't understand what was happening. I could hear my hear beating against my chest... and it... felt cold...

I wasn't able to look away from it. No one could.

Cold metal pierced through her chest, blood stained the glistening silver of the blade. Aerith's hand dropped to her sides, her body hunched over as her eyes widened. Her eyes dulled as her life left her body.

I screamed out and tried to run forward. I felt hands grab my arms and hold me back. I don't who it was... I screamed and struggled. I screamed at Cloud, begging for him to do something... not just stand there...

Aerith's braid loosened as the blade was drawn back by leather clad gloves. Expressionless, Sephiroth watched as Aerith's body dropped to the ground. Cloud fell to his knees and turned the body over, shaking her as though trying to wake her up from a sleep...

I didn't hear anything... I didn't hear what had been said there... what I felt was complete anguish... and I could see red... I was... angry... I had never felt this angry in years...

I screamed and threw aside whoever was holding me in place and ran forward to the alter, drawing my blade and slashing horizontally at the man in black. He curved his body back to avoid it. I screamed out again and attacked him blindly.

"You bastard!" I cried out as I hacked at him. He simply avoided me until I dropped my sword. He put his hand on my shoulder and stared at me. I stared back at him, tears streaming down my face. "... How could you...?" I whimpered. Sephiroth stared a little longer at me before touching my cheek and let a tear drop onto his glove before examining it.

"... She will travel North... and there I will become God..." And then he just faded... I looked to Cloud and Aerith's body. Crawling over to them both I touched Aerith's face and looked at Cloud's face. Tears were in his eyes as we sat there.

I closed my eyes for a moment, opening them to look at Aerith... she looked so peaceful. As though she was sleeping... but she wasn't breathing...

"... Goodnight, Aerith..." I whispered, standing up and turning away. Cloud picked up her body and walked away from the alter.

I didn't follow...

* * *

"... Angie?" I heard Christie's voice, faint and cautious of me. I didn't look at her. She came closer to me and stood beside me, putting her hands on the alter railings. We stood in silence for a moment before she spoke up. "Cloud put Aerith's body to rest... at the lake in front of here." I kept quiet. Christie didn't add anything to it. She sighed and looked out at the water surrounding the alter.

"... They're gone now," I stated quietly, but loud enough to get her attention. "That's it, all the Cetra are dead."

"Angie what are you talking about? You're a Cetra... or at least part of one," She stated, I shook my head.

"No... I've made sense of it now..." I sighed. "When I had the Jenova Cells injeced into me, they ate away at my Cetra DNA and... made me this..." I looked down at my hands, gripping the railing tighter. "I can't possibly be called a Cetra when I'm like this."

"... Alright," Christie said. "I'll take your word for it. Still... you're still connected to Sephiroth, you want answers from him. Aerith's death is just another thing he needs to answer for," I sighed at this. "Angie, look, this is hard on all of us, but you can't let it get to you."

"Christie you can never get used to people dying..." I told her. "It's... building up so much... it's too dangerous and I... what if more of us die?" Christie sighed as I talked. "Christie it's too much... look at who we've lost so far: Fina, Grace, Lysander and now Aerith... we've lost too many people..."

"And you're just gonna give up?" Christie said sternly, I thought she reverted back to her bitter snarling mood. "Granted, we've been through a load of shit but we came out the other end fine... we lost people but it wasn't our fault, they _knew_ what they were doing," She walked away and picked up my sword, inspecting it. "They wouldn't want us to feel guilty over their deaths... and they wouldn't want us to stop fighting either," She turned to me, and I only turned my head around. "Angie, you can't just stop fighting. I know you and you're not the kind of person who gives up," I turned to her and she pointed my sword at me. I looked at her face. She had bandaging over her left eye, but it was stained with blood. She didn't have the Looking Glass on, so Aura still luminated her open eye. She also had a smile on her face. "You didn't give up on me, did you?" I stared for a moment before taking hold of my sword as Christie let go.

For a moment we stood in silence before I nodded at her and sheathed my sword.

"We'll go North. We'll follow Sephiroth," I told her. "And this time... we'll be on the same side." Christie nodded and smiled at me more.

"Wouldn't want it any other way," She said. In honesty I was glad at that. We were friends and it about time we stared acting like it.

* * *

So I _finally_ got the Cetra Arc done. So now we will move on to the Crater Arc, where there will be a change of atmosphere around the group and actual friendships being formed, as well as the return of a certain character.


	51. Heading North

Heading North

The morning after the.. incident... we all woke up in the hut but we didn't move from our beds at all. I swear I could have heard sobbing, but that was to be expected. I sighed and lay on my back. I can't believe this happened. You don't really expect friends to die when it's like this. You fight countless amounts of monsters and you think you can beat anything thrown at you. Then the shit hits the fan and... this happens.

"Omen?" Looking over I seen Christie sitting on the end of the bed. She looked completely exhausted, bless her. Well after everything that happened I can't blame her. Just glad that her and Angie came back with all their limbs intact last night.

"Hey Chris, what's up?" I sat up in the bed and tilted my head to the side. She shook her head for a brief moment and stretched.

"Just... shaken..." She replied quickly. I nodded and stretched my neck muscles, feeling sudden tension there anyway.

"I understand, no matter how many times it happens, it's never easy to watch someone die," I yawned after my statement, which was honest truth. In my line of work I've seen countless people die, and no matter how many times it happens within the one family, it's never any easier for them. In fact death just traumatises you even more.

"I just don't understand why Aerith went to die!" Christie yelled before I hushed her, not wanting to wake the others.

"Look I know you're upset," I told her, trying not to get agitated. "But you can't start yelling and upset everyone else. Isn't there any other way you can deal with this?" Christie just kept quiet after that. Sighing, I shook my head. "Chris, bottling it up won't help either, we've seen the results of _that_ method before."

"This is just... I don't know," She sighed. "Maybe I should follow Angie on her alcoholism," She chuckled weakly at the poor joke then sighed. "Damn I'm not good at this am I?"

"Ehhh, no," I shook my head, and she then pushed my on the shoulder lightly. I smiled a bit and looked at her. "Maybe you should get a bit more rest? I mean it'll probably make you feel better, it usually does."

"Don't feel tired," Christie sighed. I had noticed her hand fidgeting with the broken Looking Glass. She looked weird without them. Not that she was ugly, she was nice looking, I was just used to seeing her with them on.

"Miss wearing that?" I asked. She looked at me while I extended my hand. "C'mon, I'll give them back," Sighing, Christie handed me the Looking Glass. I took it but I didn't break eye contact with her. "How's the eye? Let me have a look," I took off the bandages around her eye and cringed a little at the sight. I had used as much healing Magick as I could and cleaned it so it wasn't infected. Aparrently my Magick could only heal so far with her, but a least it didn't turn into some weird mutation or something we were okay.

Her eye was bleeding less, and wasn't infected, but it still didn't look pretty. I sighed and went to get a cloth and a bowl filled with water. Spending the next half hour fixing up Christie and finally getting her to sleep again. Sure it took a bit of Magick but it worked. Besides I really thought she needed a rest. Heck we all did. I just lay on my back, sighing. I didn't want to show what I was really feeling to Christie, I'd be a blubbering mess. I've seen a lot of people die. I've taken an endless amount of souls. I've seen my friends being killed in front of me... and I seen my sister disappear...

I wiped my eyes once I felt tears on my face. Damn I was being such an wimp, I couldn't cry now. But everything was just coming back... I can't bear thinking of that day.

"Cid?" I whimpered suddenly, still lying on the bed, looking at my father figure. Cid groggily looked at me, he really wasn't a morning person.

"Kid what is it?" He asked. I hiccupped before trying my best to calm down to actually talk to Cid.

"I... I miss my sister..." I sobbed out, wiping my eyes on the duvet, not looking at Cid.

"Hey now crying won't help, kid," He told me. "Now I know you miss her, but damn how many times have I told you to get your shit together? Don't cry everytime shit hits the fan. Kid, you may be a twin but you're the older one, keep yourself together."

Sighing I looked up at the roof, listening to Cid. Okay, I was the older brother but Ghost was incredibly headstrong and acted on impulse, not regretting or really thinking of her actions. I thought a lot and always tried to tell her off for what she was doing. We were two peas in a pod but we were both so different as well. Kind of weird.

* * *

Eventually we all started to leave the city at some point in the afternoon. We were all really quiet, and I was thinking really hard, but my mind had went blank, which really annoyed me.

I had given Christie back her Looking Glass as we left, I had managed to fix it as much as I could. I managed to crack a Destruct Materia into a lense, but I wasn't too sure if there would be any Magick in it after words. She seemed thankful for it, and was wearing them again. Still that slightly good mood she was in faded almost as soon as it appeared. It was horrible, the mood was absolutely horrible.

Then I actually knew what to say as the city disappeared from view.

"Keep it together," I just said out loud. Everyone stopped and I felt their stares. "Keep it together, there's no use crying."

"Omen, now's not the time," Christie warned me, her warning wasn't in a snarl though, eh, I was aware that I'd get a beating from everyone else.

"Look, I know that everything's gone haywire, but we have to keep it together," I said. "C'mon, we've been in a lot of near death situations, right? We got through them we can get through this," I felt like I should have been punched in the face right about now. "Look, we have to just keep going, we can't mope about otherwise we're sitting ducks."

"... You made your point?" Christie asked quietly. She stared at me blankly. "We need to get going... if we want to beat the man who did this."


	52. Modeoheim

Modeoheim

Everything was practically pitch black the night we reached Modeoheim. The only light we had was from a fire we made from broken wood, and it was our only warmth. It was freezing out here. It took forever to find a half warm area. Omen was currently the only one awake, bar myself. He had offered to keep watch the entire night, I wasn't too sure why he had done it though. I couldn't sleep really, I was... I felt all of my past emotions creeping back into me as I lay on the ground, with Vincent's cloak draped over me for warmth. The other thing was that Vincent was sleeping right next to me, his clawed arm over me, holding his cloak to stop it from blowing off in the wind. I didn't know how everyone else could sleep in this kind of weather. I had to use my own Pyrokinesis to keep myself warm as a matter of fact.

Sighing, I carefully moved out from under Vincent's arm and stood up, putting my arms around myself for warmth. This place was genuinely worse than Macalania or Gagazet ever were. I walked over to Omen, who was sitting down in the snow, wide awake, well he seemed to be wide awake.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep?" I eventually said, standing beside Omen before yawning.

"I think you should get sleep," He replied. "I'll be fine Angie."

"Try saying that when you fall asleep tomorrow in the snow," I told him.

"It won't kill me, I'm a Cryomancer, remember?" He looked up at me as he spoke. "I can handle a blizzard," He then stretched his arms for a moment as he obviously was stiff from sitting there for so long. "I've aways liked snow, guess that's why I picked that Element. I think Phantoms are like the only spieces who get to pick an Element to weild. Well even then we don't get much choice, I mean some have affinities, others don't, but we always go with the Element we are instinctively drawn to."

"And that was Ice for you?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

"Yup, I think I decided that Element when I beat Ghost in a snowball fight one year and she got terribly annoyed, and that's an understatement," He explained. "We didn't fight much in seriousness, but in games we always got really competitive with one another, and she could never beat me at snowball fights. Once I mastered Cryomancy I remember saying to her "Hey, now I can beat you with snowballs all year round!" Ghost got so annoyed at me because I threw some frost at her afterwards," He laughed for a moment then sighed. "It was fun until she mastered her own Element."

"Did Ghost pick Fire and melt them all?" I asked curiously.

"Nah, she picked Lightning," He corrected. "She always used bolts and blasted the snowballs apart. Well when she saw them coming."

"She should have just fried you and got rid of the problem at its source," Christie suddenly said, sitting on the other side of Omen. Her comment got Omen laughing again.

"She tried, that's how I got this scar on my hand," He took off his left glove and indicated to a small, white line, nearly invisible against his pale skin, just between his middle and ring fingers. "She got me with a lightning bolt."

"You? Getting beat up by a girl? Never!" Christie exclaimed with sarcasm, which caused me to stifle a laugh. Omen then gave her look of mock offence.

"Chris leave me what's left of my masculinity," He pleaded, causing both me and Christie to laugh. Omen still pretended to act hurt. "What? I _do_ have masculinity."

"Yeah yeah, we believe you," Christie chuckled, I managed to calm my laughter down as well, just as Omen went into a mood with us both.

"Fine, always pick on me then," He pouted slightly, which made us both giggled. "Well at least Ghost and I didn't like cat and dog like you two do." Christie and I both looked at each other quietly before I spoke.

"We've buried the hatchet," She said. Christie had a bit of finality in her tone, I think that showed that she was committed to the idea. Omen, however, didn't seem convinced.

"What? Until we reach the Icicle Inn?" He asked. "Did you guys throw some dirt over this hatchet?"

"No, it's six feet under," I replied, to which Christie nodded. "We're going to work together from now on, we're moving past the ridiculous arguements we had in the past."

"Really now?" Omen raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed by both of us. "Well Chris, you _do_ have a thing for red heads." Christie blushed slightly, and uncharacteristically, then pushed Omen to the side.

"Shut it!" She told him, giving him a glare. Omen just chuckled, but it left me more than a little confused.

"Um, something going on that I don't know about?" I asked. I think Christie was mentally pleading with Omen not to say anything, but with this Phantom, he would tell sooner or later.

"Ah, Chris here's taken a fancy to a certain red haired Turk," He grinned, making Christie shove him. I looked at Christie, who in turn looked at me.

"You mean that Reno man?" I asked. "You mean you love the enemy?"

"Hey, love's too strong a word," Christie retorted, not denying the accusation. "Okay, he's kind of cute, I'll admit that, but it doesn't mean I fancy him!" I swear her eyes were looking away from us. Omen still wasn't convinced, as usual.

"Sure, bet you think about him all the time when you can," He chuckled, causing him to get shoved face first into the snow. I smiled slightly at that. He turns around and supported himself on his elbows. "Ah, denial is the strongest indicator of affections."

"Shut it!" Christie repeated, the uncharacteric blush going deeper. "If I _did_ fancy him it's not anything would happen, like he gives a damn about Avalanche, and I put my duties before my emotions."

"So you beat up your friends yet fall or an obnoxious red head?" Omen got a snowball to the face which he shook off, still grinning.

"He killed hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent people, just to crush _us_," She was referring to when Sector 7 was crushed beneath the Plate. Now that I think on it, it was rather surprising that she would have feelings for him when he did such a thing, and harmed us in the process.

"Shinra's orders, just because he carried them out doesn't mean that he wanted to do it," Why was Omen trying to justify him and his actions? He may just have found amusement in pushing Christie's buttons, or was trying to pull a confession out of her. I know that he was being genuine in his thoughts though, he always was.

"He still carried him out," Christies snapped back, standing up and walking out into the snow. Both Omen and I followed her, I think she knew if she was any louder she'd wake up the others. Something she wanted to avoid, no doubt.

"Just admit it, you like him, we won't judge you for it," Omen shrugged. Christie faced me rather than him, as though as she was completely ignoring Omen. That was most likely the case. Instead she just stood there. Her face looked deep in thought, like she was attempting to put together the right words in order to get her point across.

Eventually she said something: "I don't know."

It wasn't the words that surprised me the most. What surprised me was that she sounded exactly the same way as she did when she was fourteen, during our first journey. Her voice had uncertainty, like whenever she attempted to connect with me. I didn't realise that she could be exactly the way she was when she was younger. She genuinely didn't know what to think. In fact... did she honestly change at all over seven years? Maybe she was just still the same unsure and confused girl she was back then...

"Well, good thing you're not one to put your heart on the line," Omen then attempted to give her a hug, to which she shoved him so he landed on his arse in the snow.

Then again, maybe she had changed a bit.

"Christie," I looked at her and smiled slightly. "Whatever you choose to do about this, I'll support your decision."

"There isn't a choice to be made, he's the enemy," Christie stated with a finality. "At least you guys have slightly easier times with who you fancy, well maybe not you Omen 'cause Cloud's not gay."

"Yeah, don't even know why I bother, I mean he obviously has a thing for Tifa," Omen stood up and brushed the snow off himself. "Still, I just resist a sexy blue eyed blonde."

"I've noticed, you practically drool over him," Christie remarked before turning to me. "Then there's you and Vincent-"

"There's nothing between us," I stated quickly before feeling a faint blush on my face. It was now time for my friends to gang up on me.

"Really? I hardly see you away from him," Omen grinned, the same grin he had when teasing Christie. "You do look cute together."

"Yup, and I've seen the way you look at him," Christie also grinned, what was scary was that she had the exact same grin as Omen. "You obviously have feelings for him, I mean remember when we found him? I could tell you were desperate to say you needed him, not that you needed his help." I blushed more, looking away.

"I think they look cute, don't you think so Christie?" Omen teased, making me more embarrassed, but at the same time feel even worse.

"He doesn't like me back," I told them, certain of it. "I'm just the girl Fina and Oblivion told him to look after."

"Yeah but you grew up," Thank you Christie for pointing out the obvious. "And you both enjoy each other's company-"

"He loves someone else," I snarled. I didn't mean to snarl it was... the thought of... Lucrecia... it made my blood boil.

"He does?" Omen raised his eyebrow. "But he seems so close to you."

"Because I'm the only one he knows," I told him. "And... I don't understand why he would love a dead woman."

"Wait, you mean the other woman who helped in the Jenova Project? Lucrecia I think her name was?" I remember Christie read Fina's journal, I'm surprised she remembered.

"The woman who gave birth to Sephiroth... Lucrecia... he's in love with her," I nodded, closing my eyes. I hated Lucrecia... I always have...

"Wow... sorry Angie," Omen put a hand on my shoulder. "Well... do you think he just needs a bit of closure with her?"

"We all need closure... all of us here do..." I told him. "You want closure on what happened to your sister, Christie wants closure on this hero life she's been made to lead.... Gaia I can't even begin to explain all the fucked up problems Avalanche has..." It was true... Yuffie, Nanaki, Cid, Barret, Cloud, Tifa... and damn knows about Cait Sith. We all have personal motivations for being here... we all just want closure on this, regardless of our reasons.

"We want closure on a lot of things, but we don't get that luxury," Christie stated. "Like with Grace and Lysander," Don't bring them up Christie... not after what happened... they're gone... dead... because of me... "We don't like talking or thinking about it, it hurts, I know. They were my friends too. We don't know what happened... we might never get closure on that."

"Is this supposed to be pep talk? No offence but you're pretty bad at it," Omen piped in. As usual, Christie ignored him.

"Angie... Angevale," She crossed her arms over her chest. "What I'm saying is... we won't get closure on everything... not unless a miracle happens. Omen, I'm saying this to you too, you may never know what happened to your sister." The Phantom seemed shocked for a moment before looking down, clearly getting upset from the small statement made. Christie had a point though. We may never have things work out perfectly in the end... there would always be something else.

My head shot up as I looked around suddenly. Something was here... we weren't alone. Before either could speak I ran off to the warehouses not far from where we rested. I could hear them calling on me to come back. I never did listen. I'm glad I didn't.

* * *

I pushed open the doors to the Mako Reactor and looked around. The place looked as though it had been in use a couple of years back. Wary, I looked around the Reactor, trying to find what I had sensed here... whatever it was it was familiar. It was like an instinct to come here.

"Angie, what are you playing at now!?" Christie yelled. I approached the railing to find nothing but darkness below me.

"Something's... something's here..." I stated, being curious I walked around the Reactor, trying the get the feeling I had back. It was fading now. "It... I swear I sensed something here..."

"Well maybe since you're a Cetra you're-" I swiftly turned to Omen and glared at him.

"I'm_ no_ Cetra!" I snapped, as usual Omen wasn't affected by the outburst.

"Well maybe since you're an _Angel_, a _Seraph_, no less, you're more finely attuned to high concentrations of Lifeforce?" Omen altered his question to make me realise what part of my heritage I had been neglecting. My mother's genetics, or what was left of them. She was a Cetra too, but thanks to Jenova those genes have been eaten away, so all that's left is her Seraph genetics... although I never knew my mother, I knew she took pride in her position. Ultima, one of the greatest High Seraphs Utopia had... now that great legacy has been left to me, the runt of the Rhapsodos bloodline. And my father... a God... who I've never known... I'm his daughter, and I've done nothing to show respect to my parent's legacies. To anything my parents left behind. In honesty I've been too obsessed with doing as Oblivion says. It's sad that I've focused more on family who aren't even blood related rather than those who are.

"Lifeforce? You mean Lifestream or Mako?" Christie asked as I walked to the transparent glass cylinder.

"Yeah, but that's what Utopians call it," Omen explained. "Basically it's just one of the first names given to it." I stared into the the cylinder and noticed torn up red leather and black feathers at the bottom. The cylinder looked as though it could hold a person inside it. I blinked for a moment as to why they were here.

"Feathers..." I muttered, hushing both Omen and Christie as they were discussing something irrelevant to me. "Black feathers... why are they... so..." I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the glass.

"Angie..." Christie put her hand on my shoulder and shook me lightly. "Angels have wings, you've got your wings... maybe it's something to do with that?" She knew she didn't put her words in the correct context. She... didn't know.

"My wings were ripped from me," I whispered. It was the first time I had talked about it. "When I was captured and imprisoned... my wings were ripped from my back... I was fully conscious... it was too much pain to endure..."

"And feathers appeal to you now?" Christie asked. I wanted my wings back. More than anything. Those wings, I hardly used them... but I felt like I needed them. "Your brother?" I looked at Christie with shock. How could she make that assumption so quickly. "If your brother was born of your mother's side, then he must have wings too."

"Black wings?" I asked, slightly confused. I didn't think it was that common for Angels to have black wings. Then again I had been secluded most of my life so I've never seen any other Angels before.

"Guess I'm not the only one who won't get closure on family," Omen suddenly muttered. But loud enough for us to hear. The way he said it... he held contempt and anger. And it was more of a snarl. It was... so unlike him.


	53. Down To The Cliff

Down To The Cliff

It didn't take us long before we reached the Icicle Inn. It was further North than Modeoheim, but miles from the Northern Crater itself. The town was very small, and not many people were on the streets. In fact, it was so cold at the moment we were all stuck inside the lodge as there was a huge blizzard. Omen swore on his life he had nothing to do with it, so we beleieved him. In truth we didn't really think his powers were that strong. He could hold off blizzards, yes, but we didn't think he could control them.

Some residents were telling us that the way down to the Crater was a good snowboarding area, but at the bottom was very dangerous due to severe and constant snow storms and that was why it was rarely used. Cloud and Tifa were currently explaining their situation to a shopkeeper, as they were trying find a way to get us down to the Cliff. Christie was wearing Omen's trench coat while he was drinking herbal tea, not sure which kind he was drinking though. Most of us were in the general vincinity of the cafe and bar in fact. I sat at a table with a bottle of beer in my hand and drank from it every now and again as I looked around the place, as though looking for an epiphany.

Suddenly the beer was take from my hand and I looked up to see Christie. She sat down opposite me, keeping the beer out of my reach.

"What was that for?" I asked, half knowing the answer.

"Rather you not have a hangover for when we confront Sephiroth," She responded, drinking what remained of my beer, about half I'm guessing.

"A hangover from one beer?" I asked, slightly unimpressed. "I'm not a lightweight. And it's alright for you to have one?"

"I have my limits," She pointed out and clearly earning a victory from this debate. "Plus that herbal tea that Omen's into tastes like grass."

"You drank it?"

"He said I needed it to calm myself down, as I am "filled with negative energy" or something," She mocked Omen's voice which made me laugh, however Omen overheard us and acted hurt.

"When will this bullying cease?" He pretended to start sobbing but after a few seconds shrugged it off and went back to drinking his tea. I turned back to Christie after that.

"How do you think we'll get down there?" I asked her. Christie looked up in thought then yawned.

"No clue," She replied. "I mean, I don't think any of us can snowboard, and no way am I going to use Omen's suggestion of an oversized sled made of ice."

"Seriously?" I raised my eyebrow.

"I thought he was joking," Christie shrugged then shuddered. "Even with his coat it's cold. Lucky you, you've got Pyrokinsis."

"Lysander would be jealous," I smiled a little. The boy always loved a good bit of fire, although sometimes it did get to the extent in which he should have seen someone about it.

"You think they're alive?" Christie asked. I was a bit shocked by the question, and she could tell. "Sorry, just a thought."

"There may be a chance... a fifty-fifty chance, maybe," I replied. "They were good people, they didn't deserve to be caught up in this. None of you should have been."

"We were Connections back then Angie," Christie told me. "I'm part Spirian, so I would have been there regardless... Grace and Lysander... pure bad luck for them."

"But they did take a liking to each other," I pointed out, vividly remembering when they were asleep cuddling in Macalania.

"Grace? ... I wasn't too sure," Christie shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, she has a heart of gold, but I honestly don't think she liked Lysander as much as he liked her."

"She was leading him on?" I asked, rather shocked. Then again, I knew little to nothing on relationships.

"Not too sure... maybe she did fancy him at one point, but Lysander was head over heels in love with her," Christie said, rolling her shoulders back. "Granted, he kept it well hidden underneath swearing, anger and severe pyromania, but take all that away and you can that he really did love her... and probably still does."

"It's horrible that they may not get closure on what they had," I sighed. "I was closest to you, but I did consider them good friends, even when Lysander held a gun to your head."

"I didn't fully understand the whole Aura mind control thing," Christie admitted. "Why Lysander of all people? I mean, he was stronger than me or Grace yet neither of us were affected by the mind control," I pondered on this then gave a shrug. "I mean, I can't use mind control... how could Seymour?"

"Aura manifests differently in each person," Omen sat down with us with a tray, it had three cups and a tea pot, as well as tea bags. "It's based on personality, and the actions you take in life. You're more focused on brute strength and anger Christie, so your Aura's more physical, if you were more of a thinker you'd be able to use mind control. Instead you can kick someone in the nuts even if you were miles away."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Christie asked him. "I can now make sure you don't spawn." I giggled as Omen sat there, mock glaring at Christie.

"Thanks, and I was going to ask you to surrogate too," He stated. "Besides I bet your kids will end up being like you, and the last thing we need is _your_ spawn around." Christie poked his shoulder, but he laughed it off and put the tea bags into the cups. "Anyway, who wants some?"

"I hate that stuff, I don't care if it helps relaxation," Christie commented.

"Nah this one's different, didn't think you'd like chamomile anway," He smiled. "Maybe you'll like this one, kind of surprised they had it up here."

"It's going tobe something bizarre isn't it?" Christie asked. Omen then looked at her, a small smile on his face.

"Would you find catnip odd?" He asked. We stared at him strangely. He shrugged and continued making the tea. "It's good, it's a relaxant, calming and a slight sedative, which we need for you two sometimes." Well that's charming.

* * *

About an hour later the blizzard had cleared up and Cloud was explaining that the only way down was to snowboard, an idea none of us were all that fond of, as we couldn't snowboard, as Christie stated. Still it seemed as though we would need to practice on the way down.

We all stood at the top of the slope and each of us had a snowboard in hand. The people in the lodge thought we wouldn't make it out alive, but we knew better. At least I hope so.

"Uh, it was this big when we first looked was it?" Yuffie asked, panicking now. With the blizzard covering it, the slope looked small, but now it looked as though it could go on forever.

"We have to make sure we stay together," Cloud told us. "If we do get separated..."

"We're fucked," Cid finished. "Damn this thing's gonna be end of some of us."

"Nice Captain," Omen commented. We all got ready to slide down, positioning ourselves in the way we thought would keep us balanced.

"Stop!" That voice was vaguely familiar. We turned our heads to see Elena with Shinra troops. "You aren't gonna get away with what you did to Tseng." We all kept quiet in confusion for a few moments.

"Uh, what did we do to Tseng?" Yuffie asked.

"Dunno, but I ain't hanging to know what she'll do to us!" Omen then jumped and started sliding down the slope.

"That's what I call a quick getaway!" Tifa smiled and followed suit. The rest of us followed them down and quickly escaped the gunshots from the Shinra troops and Elena.

To be honest, it wasn't the most gtraceful exit, as Barret and Nanaki were having trouble keeping balance, Cait Sith was using his stuffed Moogle as a sled and Yuffie was stumbling and weaving in and out of us. Omen seemed to have good balance, and was zipping down ahead of us as we tried to speed up.

"If it was a desert dune I'd have less trouble!" Christie called out as she was a little ahead of me. "Those dune bikes are easier to handle!"

"Really? Never knew you hung around the deserts much!" I clled back, crouching down to speed up. "Either way, see you when you get down!"

"You wantin' a race then!?" Christie grinned and copied my actions.

"We shouldn't be playing around!" Cloud yelled at us. "And keep with us!"

"C'mon Cloud have a bit of fun!" Omen shouted and used his cryomancy to create a ramp which he rode up and jumped off, whooping and landed back down.

"Kid you're a show off!" Cid yelled at him.

"You're just jealous old man!" Omen grinned then ducked under Cid's spear, speeding up. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Don't kill me!"

"It was gonna happen sooner or later!" Barret laughed as Omen kept evading Cid, going above on a route of ice he formed on his own. Unfortunately, his fun was cut short.

"I think the blizzard's starting again!" Tifa called out. She was right, our vision was blurred with a massive wave of snow rushing in all directions. "Omen g-" We heard a yelp, but we couldn't see where the Phantom had went, as his voice soon faded and we couldn't even see the direction he went.

"Omen!" I cried out, looking to Christie. She gripped onto my arm and nodded at me.

"Grip onto everyone!" She yelled. "We've got to keep together!"

"What about Omen!?" Cid yelled, grabbing Tifa's arm, who had clung to Cloud.

"He'll be fine he's adapted to this! We'll find him at the bottom!" Christie yelled back.

"My fingers are going numb!" Yuffie cried, before screaming out and being lost into the snow.

"Fuck we're dropping like flies!" Cid was the next to disappear from us, then Cait Sith and Nanaki went soon after him.

"Shit we're fucked!" Barret yelled, he had a good grip on Tifa now. We were the only ones left together... wait...

"Where's Vincent!?" I screamed out before feeling Christie's grip on me loosen, I looked to her and seen that she was losing consciousness. "No Christie, c'mon stay with me!" She was doing her best, but soon her grip weakened and she tumbled off into the blizzard. "Christie!" My grip on Cloud suddenly gave way, and I was sent flying and rolling dwn a hill of snow. I tried to conjure up fire, and eventually did to melt the snow away so I rolled onto dirt and into a tree, banging my head and being brought close to tears.

I waited for the blizzard to clear up again, I have no idea how long it took. I kept myself conscious using fire on my body, almost making it look as though I was combusting. As soon as it cleared I stood up and tried to determine where I was. For all I knew everyone was alone... and some of us could be close to dying.

"Christie?" I called out before bursting into a run in a random direction, I kept calling out everyone's names, but no reply came to me. I soon came to the edge of the woods and all I could see was snow. In fact, I could barely see anything in front of me. "The blizzard's really bad..." I broke off a lot of branches, as many as I could carry, and began walking slowly. "Please I hope you're all okay..."


	54. Icy Grip

Icy Grip

I spents hours crossing the barren snow feild, having to use the branches to keep track of where I was going, because even if I thought I was walking straight ahead, I found that I was turning in different directions. I had ended up walking between rocks and over frozen rivers, until I eventually decided to walk up one river. I could hardly feel myself moving I was so numb, I was using a lot of energy just heating myself up, and I was scared if I collapsed there and then. To be honest I was scared for the others as well, they could all be dying right now, and I had no idea where anyone was. I couldn't give up, I had to find them and keep them safe.

The river beneath me was frozen solid, so I was glad I wouldn't be able to break it with my weight. I just kept going forwards, barely seeing much in the snow, but I could hear. I could faintly hear water running up ahead of me, so I slowly tried to force myself into a run, hoping I would find something there.

When I reached the sound the air around me changed, the snow blizzard was replaced with steam and the temperature warmed up. Feeling calmer, and warmer, I stepped forward and found that the river was unfrozen and there was a large mass of water that was a hot spring. I crouched down and put on hand the water. It felt so warm, I was tempted to jump into it, but if I did that I'd be wasting time. Instead I jumped over floating bits of ice to a snowy path, where I noticed something, or rather someone, lying in the snow face first. Purple gloves and black boots are what made him noticeable in the white ground.

Kneeling down I turned Omen over to his back and brushed the snow from his face. If he didn't have the powers he had, his face would have been extremely pale and have blue lips. He looked as though he was only sleeping though, not unconscious because of the blizzard.

"Omen wake up," I shook him lightly and made a small moan come from him. I shook him again before lighting my hand with fire then placing it on his forehead, making him turn his head away and open his eyes, sitting bolt upright.

"By Alice Marie that's hot!" He yelled, clutching his forehead. I stared at him with confusion.

"It wasn't that hot, are you that sensitive to fire?" I asked him. He turned to me and rubbed his forehead, narrowing his eyes. "You were asleep, you wouldn't wake up." Omen took off his glasses and cleaned them of snow before putting them back on, yawning.

"It was out of exhaustion, if I wasn't tired I could get through here no problem," He said, getting up. I stood up as well and looked around. "I don't know if anyone else would be conscious with this storm... well, maybe Cait Sith but he's a robot."

"What if they're dead?" I asked, worried. Omen then narrowed his eyes at me before closing them.

"... I can feel a faint spirit nearby, but really faint," He said. He must have been using his Phantom senses to track them. "They're really scattered, and live... but barely..." He then started running up a hill all of a sudden, so I ran after him as fast as I could, but he was a few feet ahead of me even when I ran as fast as I could.

* * *

After running for a good few miles or so, Omen came to a halt and looked around. I caught up and breathed heavily, coughing for a moment as I got my breath back.

"You're not the strongest of runners are you?" He asked. I glared at him as I kept breathing heavy.

"I ..._am_ a... strong runner!" I panted. "It's... just this... weather..."

"Yeah you don't have much muscle, which is strange since you show off quite a bit of strength," Omen shrugged in response. "If it's the weather, then maybe you should eat more and insulate your body, honestly sometimes I swear I can see your spine through your top." It was true, I was an incredibly unhealthy weight, but it wasn't my fault... alright maybe it was but I was locked up for two years with little food and water. Omen concentrated again and looked around.

"I thought you sensed someone here?" I looked at him, seeing no one about apart from us.

"I did, but it disappeared," Omen said. "It's not they died, I'd still be able to sense it then. Maybe they woke up and walked away?" I looked down for footprints, but if there were any, the snow must have covered them. Then I spotted an uneven part in the snow, a trail, like someone being dragged. The snow may have cleared it, but it wasn't level with the sound around it.

"Omen, look," I pointed and Omen stared for a moment before walking forward. He crouched down and closed his eyes again, as though in thought.

"There's... a really strong spirit and a faint one," He said, standing up. "Someone's dragged them through the snow, we should follow."

"And if it's Shinra?" I asked, walking beside Omen. He took out his fans and opened them.

"Then we take them out," He stated, walking faster. The path was quite straight forward as we followed it, and the blizzard was clearing up. I'm sure it was Omen doing that, since he was walking with a very focused look in his eyes. However he did look pretty tired, he has used a lot of energy lately. I hoped he wouldn't collapse again, I don't think I'd be able to carry him.

* * *

The trail eventually led up to a cabin near the foot of the cliff. The lights were on so somebody must have been inside. It was quite a large cabin but either way it was odd that it was here. The place was otherwise barren. The good thing was that it was clearer up here, with only a light snowfall.

Omen went up to the cabin and knocked on the door. We stood for a minute waiting for a response, then Omen knocked again, a little louder this time. An older man with a moustache opened the door, he was greying and looked as though he had been trekking through the blizzard himself.

"I'm surprised you two managed to get through this blizzard alive," He stated, rather surprised before letting us in. The place was even bigger inside than out, and there were fireplaces about as well.

"We have our ways," Omen smiled, looking around. I looked at the couch and noticed a black and white cat, it worte a crown and a red scarf with brown boots.

"Cait Sith?" I tilted my head to the side and the cat noticed, jumping off the couch and smiling happily.

"Angie, Omen, oh it's so great to see you!" He said. The man then spoke again.

"If you know this cat then I assume your friends are the ones I found in the blizzard?" He asked, Omen nodded.

"Yes, Mister..."

"Mr. Holzoff."

"Yes, they're our friends, but how did you know they were out there?" Omen asked.

"Cait Sith found my cabin and told me they were scattered around the area, it took a long time but I've managed to recover them all, but they're all still out cold, pardom the pun," He told us, indicating to the back room.

"Thank you so much, sir," Omen smiled politely as he showed us to the room were everyone was. They were all grouped together, obviously for body heat, with thick blankets over them all. I walked over to Christie and knelt down beside her, she was still really cold and she wouldn't wake up, not that I wanted to do that.

"You too better rest as well, just until your friends wake up, then I'll tell you all how to scale Gaea's Cliff," Holzoff said, closing the door. Omen sat beside me, but I stood up and walked over to Vincent, staring at him as I sat down by him.

"They'll be fine," Omen stated, lying down and yawning. "Trust me." He fell asleep almost instantly. I stayed awake for a little longer, looking at Vincent. I'd been doing a lot to keep my emotions running like a lovesick teenager, but I... got scared everytime I didn't see Vincent. He was one of the last few people I had left. I know he didn't love me back, and probably never would... but I felt better with him near me.

* * *

"Angie, c'mon wake up," I felt someone shake me as I opened my eyes. I must have fallen asleep, but I don't even remember doing so. I looked up at Christie, sitting as she crouched and smiled at me. "Good to see you awake."

"Good to see you alive," I smiled back. Christie nodded and stood up, as did I. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Christie nodded again. "We were all separated in that blizzard, although some of us managed to group together, we still blacked out. I only woke up recently, but the good thing is that we're back together and we're heading up Gaea's Cliff, and soon we'll get inside the Northern Crater."

"And never go snowboarding again?" I joked, making Christie smile a bit more. "I'm glad... that we can finish this finally."

"I dunno, I have a feeling something will happen," Christie shrugged. "I mean, sure even if we do defeat Sephiroth and Jenova, we still have Shinra to take care of. And they don't play nice."

"Sephiroth's our main concern now, he plays worse than Shinra, you know that," I told her.

"Yeah I know, but we can take him out," Christie said with confidence. "We took out Sin and Vegnagun, didn't we?"

"Remember, you're strong from defeating them, but Sephiroth was able to bat you away on the cargo ship," I responded. She was much stronger than I could ever be, there really wasn't any question about it. "Anyway, are we ready to go?"

* * *

"Is everyone okay?" Cloud called as we climbed up the cliff. We were all tied together, a thick, strong cord keeping us together as we ascended Gaea's Cliff. Mr. Holzoff had given us equipment to use to reach the Crater.

"Yeah, got a great view," Omen grinned, being directly under Cloud, which made the blonde groan and continue moving upwards. There was a blizzard brewing as we got higher, and our vision began to become blurred. I was glad that we wouldn't lose each other this time.

"So once we defeat Sephiroth, what will we do?" Christie asked, she was just behind me, and Tifa was above me, and Omen above her.

"Probably take down Shinra," Barret replied, he was underneath Cid, who was below Christie. "Those bastards wanna take out Sephiroth, so they'll be followin' us."

"Take out two birds with the one stone," Cid chuckled as we continued our ascent. It was surprising when you don't think about things, they're done a lot faster, as within a few hours we had reached the top of the cliff and were overlooking the Crater.

"Holy shit..." Christie muttered. There was certainly a lot of Lifestream gathering at the Crater, and it gave off a soft green hue from the core outwards. Lifestream was even visible from the core. "Haven't seen anything like this since the Farplane."

"Yeah... it's really amazing," Tifa agreed, taking the words right out my mouth. The sight really was beautiful, the only sad part was that something evil and inhuman was poisoning it from within.

From the distance behind us we could hear a humming noise, but it was quite faint at first. It got a bit louder after a few moments and we began trying to figure out what it may have been, until Omen and Cid realised what it was.

"Cid... isn't that the Highwind?" Omen pointed up to the sky, to a massive Airship coming towards us, and getting closer and closer.

"Shit! The Shinra are using _my_ fucking Airship!" Cid yelled in anger.

"Just what we need... more company..." I muttered. Vincent stared upat the Airship as well, standing beside me.

"Will Hojo be there?"

"I can't say for certain."

"Doesn't matter, we can take Sephiroth and the Shinra out at once!" Barret stated. I suppose it was true but either way I had a feeling that something wasn't right...


	55. Unwanted Company

Unwanted Company

"Gah, will ye bloody let go of me!?" I growled. Cissnei was ordered tae bring me tae the bridge of the Highwind. She didn't tell me that but it was obvious since that was where I was now. All of the Shinra Execs were aboot tae, well all the bastard ones anyway.

"Be quiet!" Cissnei snapped, pushing me forward and making me stand in front of Rufus. I glared at him as he turned around, a smug look on his face.

"We've finally found it, the Promised Land," He stated. Looking behind him I seen the Northern Crater. I hadn't ever been this far north before. The Crater looked dead gorgeous from this view, but they didn't bring me here to sight see.

"Pretty, can you let me go now?" I asked with a bit of nastiness. "You know I know nothing, so why am I here?"

"You do know something, you know about the Goddess," Rufus replied.

"You know, your assumptions and theories are very... shite," I snapped back. "So yeah, I read Loveless, a lot of people do. And a lot of people have relationships wi' Shinra employees tae."

"Not many have relationships with 1st Class Soldiers," Rufus retorted. I glared harder at him, I was really sick of this assumption that I knew everything. I didn't know much. I didn't know so I would be protected... but it's my own fault since curiosity always kills me. "You'll tell us what we need to know in order to claim the Promised Land as our own." I know this was swept under the rug, but I couldn't help myself from asking.

"... Where's Marissa?" I asked. Rufus raised his eyebrow and Cissnei shook me. I got mad at that though and snapped. "Marissa didn't die when the Jade Weapon rose! I know she didn't! Where is she!?" Cissnei shook me again to shut me up, so I kicked her in the shin before she backhanded me.

"Be quiet!" She yelled.

"Cissnei, calm yourself," Rufus ordered smoothly. She picked me up off the ground and forced me to stand. I've really got to stand my ground better when the cow hits me. But I'm no the strongest person really. "Now Ms. Sinclair... Nevina?"

"Ms. Sinclair, we're no on any level fer a first name basis," I growled. Rufus didnae seem tae care though.

"Will Sephiroth try to call the Goddess?" Rufus asked.

"No, yer no makin' much sense," I answered. "I dinnae ken much aboot neither of them. C'mon wit dae ye really want fe me?"

"... Fine, we'll put it in more simple terms. You're clearly not the brightest Materia in the fountain," Wit!? He may be the President but he's an insulting git! "Where is your boyfriend's sister?" I kept glaring but me brain wis seized up fer a few moments there. Not only they were looking for Sephiroth and the Promised Land... wait... why were they looking fer her tae?

"... No idea who yer talkin' aboot," I replied, doing my best not tae blink. Tend tae blink when I lie. Rufus seemed tae be jumping about from wit he wanted. First he wants Sephiroth now he wants... oh...

"Perhaps I can get information out of her?" Hojo offered, making me turn tae him and snarl like a dog.

"You touch me and I'll kill ye ye slimy bastard!" I screeched, feeling me handcuffs snap a bit and seeing Cissnei's hand reel back.

"Not this again," She grumbled as she shook her hand fer a moment. Hojo wis lookin' at me as if I wis some book or something, which wis really unsettling 'cause the guy's a total freak.

"Ah, now Marissa told me about this," He cackled. Wait Marissa did wit!? "President it seems as though the girl's more latent powers are arising, just to defend her own little secrets."

"Wow, Professor, ye really deserve a medal," I snarled sarcastically.

"... You will come to the Crater with us," Rufus smirked before turning to look at the Crater again. "You will witness Shinra claim the Promised Land as our own."

"That Land is no one's..." I grumbled. I heard Hojo mumbling tae himself, but like I'd listen to that weirdo willingly. I realised that I wasn't tae be taken back tae me prison, so I stared out of the window. Cissnei was still beside me. Just so I didnae try ae escape. We're in the air where could I escape tae?

"You let yourself get into this mess," Cissnei commented in a sorry attempt fer small talk.

"And you didnae?" I remarked. "Wit happened happened, can you and Shinra just let it go? Honestly I did nothin' tae you lot. If anything I'm guilty by association."

"He told you too much. Marissa told you too much as well," Cissnei replied, no lookin' at me.

"Aye, so? I cannae start a rebellion can I?" I grumbled. "Honestly who's the bigger threat? Ye got Sephiroth, who is still clearly alive. Ye got those Avalanche guys, and Gaia know how many of them there are. Then there's me. I'm fe Kalm and the only thing I can really dae is talk dead fast wi' such a thick accent nae one can understaun me." Aye, failed tae mention me Telekenesis and wit not, but it's no like I can control it all that well so it doesn't really count. Cissnei didnae reply tae me, so I just shrugged and looked outside again. I squinted a wee bit, thnking I seen somethin' down there, but it was probably my imagination.

"Ms. Sinclair," Rufus spoke again. Wit blondie, wit dae ye want now? "If you know nothing, then why was your father killed by our own Turks? And care to explain why Cissnei is adamant about capturing you?" I glared at Cissnei and stepped in front of her.

"You're the reason I'm here!?" I screeched. "You know I know nothing! How fucking dare you!?" If I wisnae handcuffed I'd slap the little cow. "Ye kill ma da' and now ye want me tae co-opperate because ye 'hink Loveless is really happenin'!? Ye said ye wanted me help! Well ye cannae kill a Goddess! If Sephiroth is really alive think about how much Mako he's absorbed if he's been up here fe five year!" I instantly shut my mouth. Oh shite I've let me mouth run...

"You suspect Sephiroth will turn into a God?" Hojo inquired, I narrowed my eyes at him as he talked. "Hmhm, interesting seeing as there are no such things as Gods."

"Says you wi' the God complex," I retorted, shutting my mouth again.

"Who told you that!?" Hojo yelled, clearly offended by me. Eh... shite.

"You know too much for your own good Ms. Sinclair," Rufus chimed in. Now I was up shit creek without a paddle.

"Just shut up the lot of you," I said, shaking my head. "Fer fuck's sake and back, it's like ye listen tae wit ye want tae hear and nothin' else. I know less than you lot. Okay, I've had a hunch Sephiroth's been alive, and from hearin' you lot motor on about how he's been up here fe five year I came tae that conclusion. I've read Loveless, far tae much fer me own good but wit can ye dae aboot that?" I sighed and looked out at the Crater, which we were gettin' closer tae. I wisnae sure if my hunch right now wis right... but right now it was all I could think about. "If you try tae claim the Promised Land... wit if Weapons rise? Jade Weapon rose 'cause you lot tried to control the world and the Lifestream. It wis protectin' the Lifestream from you lot. You lot try tae control this... Promised Land... then fuck knows wit'll try tae stop ye."

"What makes you certain about this?" Rufus asked, although he didnae seemed scared aboot Weapons tryin' tae kill Shinra.

"Marissa telt me," I replied. "Marissa knows more aboot this than I ever will, and she vanished after the Jade Weapon wis killed. After the once great Turks became nothing but four people in suits... well five now, but Elena's a rookie," I looked at Rufus fer a moment, feeling angry but actin' calm. "All I can really say is that you lot are making a big mistake bein' here. If Sephiroth disnae take ye down, then then the Weapons or Avalanche certainly will."

"They're here?" Rufus rose his eyebrow. Wit they weren't aware?

"They want to destroy Sephiroth, President, it's only natural they'd be here," Hojo deduced.

"But we would have seen them from here," Rufus replied. They must be a bit late, or hidin'. He looked at me with suspiscion. "Are they here now?"

"Aye," I shrugged, feeling a bit cocky now fer some reason.

"How do you know?" I gave Rufus a wee smirk.

"Let's just say I 'eard it through the grapevine."


	56. Reunion

Reunion

"You know, this place looked a lot less windy from the outside!" Yuffie complained as Lifestream wooshed past us at high speeds while we went closer to the centre of the Crater. The most unnerving thing here was actually those freaky clones. Honestly the threw themselves into the Crater in mass. It's weird when you see that happening.

"This is really weird, I mean this could be the end of Sephiroth," Omen said.

"You mean it _will_ be," I told him. I was adamant to defeat Sephiroth. We all were. We'd defeat him here, and then we'll worry about Shinra. If we're lucky they may help and we'll beat them up afterwards.

"Yo why are those clones killing themselves?" Barret asked. "It's really givin' me the chills."

"They're sacrificing themselves for Sephiroth and Jenova," Angie stated, staring down at the Lifestream. "Sephiroth gets stronger with every kill. He wants Jenova to be gathered here... like a Reunion..."

"Well he won't get what he wants," I told her. "You may have Jenova Cells, but you won't jump in there." Angie gave me a nod and continued walking with the others. To be honest it felt exciting defeating a massive threat to the world again. I hadn't done it in so long I was getting an adrenaline rush from it. Although the scene was a little freaky, and something in my gut told me it wouldn't be the end if we stopped Sephiroth here.

"We're almost there," Cloud said as we climbed up a small cliff to a high pathway. Immediantly my blades shot out from my gauntlets as we approached two clones and the silver haired menace, blade brandished. Omen put his arm in front of me, as though as would be mad enough to go in for the kill.

... Who am I kidding he's smart to stop me now.

"So you have finally made it here," Sephiroth mumbled, slicing at the clones and tossing them into the Lifestream. He turned to us and smirked. "This is the end for all of you."

"Sephiroth!." Cloud growled, taking hold of his sword and stepping forward. The silver haired man quickly swung his sword and batted us all down in one go. I rolled backwards and stood up again as everyone else got up. I growled and clenched my fists.

"Let go of her!" I yelled. Sephiroth had Angie all of a sudden, holding her with his sword to her throat. He still smirked as Angie held her breath. He brought the blade closer to her neck and she looked at me as though to say 'get out while you can'.

"Both her and Cloud are needed for our Reunion," Sephiroth said, backing away with Angie. "Come with us, and witness as I reclaim the Planet you stole from my mother." Suddenly Lifestream blocked Sephiroth's path as he tried to escape, and he dropped Angie and just lay there, not moving. I was confused about what was happening, since it was really sudden. After a moment I got a good idea who was around.

"Get away from her!" Oblivion leapt over us, scythe brandished and swiping at Sephiorth, who quickly defended as Oblivion droped to his feet, pulling his scythe back and striking at Sephiroth's abdomen. The man stepped back and tried to hit Oblivion but he side stepped and swung his scythe upwards and hit Sephiroth in the chin. The red head then gave Sephiroth a roundhouse kick and knocked him to the ground. Sephiroth's sword was a few feet away, with Oblivion standing in front of it, looking down at Sephiroth. He grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Adamant to protect her?" Sephiroth asked, tugging away. Oblivion didn't move a muscle. "Very well, this body is of no use now." Sephiroth grabbed the scythe suddenly and knocked Oblivion in the face with the blunt side of the blade, knocking him down. He dropped the scythe and then blasted us again to the ground. When we all got up again.... he and Angie were gone...

Oblivion picked up his scythe and stood with his back to us, looking down at the Lifestream.I drew back my blades and clenched my fists and ran towards him, cracking his left shoulder and causing him to fall down. I held back in my desire to beat him to death, so I let him stand and turn to me.

"Argh... good to see you too, Christie," He rubbed his shoulder before rolling it back and cringing. "Although fracturing one's shoulder isn't a pleasant greeting."

"Where the fuck have you been!?" I yelled, my voice echoing. "You just want to show up whenever you feel like it don't you!?"

"You're fully aware of the situation, Christie," Oblivion replied sternly, still rubbing his shoulder. "So I suggest you don't even _think_ about trying to lecture me on protecting Angie."

"Yeah, _Angevale's_ been doing great!" I retorted, making Oblivion look at me, a strange relief in his eyes.

"So you know then?" He asked rhetorically. He stood up straight and looked around the group, nodding at them all. "Both of you seem to have made interesting friends. Then again you have a knack for attracting the odder bunch."

"You're one to talk," I scoffed, pointing Omen.

"Hey!"

"Honestly he's been near death most of the time since we met," I continued. Oblivion gave Omen a nod, staring at him.

"I must have forgotten to mention Christie's... short fuse, to put it nicely," He commented. "And natural distaste for people, if I must say."

"If you're _done_ insulting me," I interjected. "You're forgetting that Sephiroth has Angie." Oblivion's face fell as he turned around and looked at where Sephiroth once was. I crossed my arms and walked forward.

"I don't understand. Why would Sephiroth want her?" He muttered in thought. Oh yeah... he had no clue.

"Well because she's need for Jenova's Reunion," I told him, causing him to look at me with confusion. "Because your wife injected Angie's mother with Jenova Cells."

"You're lying!" Oblivion defended with a snarl. I know he loves Fina a lot and it can be difficult to accept that someone you love has done something horrible. I shook my head and stared him in the eye.

"I'm not, Oblivion," I said firmly. "Your wife injected Jenova Cells into Angie's mother's womb, so Angie became an experiment just like Sephiroth! Not only that, but Fina also done the same thing to your child!" As I talked the God's face changed slowly from anger at me accusing his wife of something horrible, to a sort of fear. His eyes were watering slightly and he was shaking. This had really hit him hard.

"No... Fina wouldn't do something like that..." He blinked and shook his head for a good few minutes. "Not Fina, she wouldn't."

"She did... she said so in her journal. In Nibelheim," I stated. I then sighed and looked at him again. "Oblivion, you better tell me what the fuck is going on. Angie may be your niece but she's my friend I have a right to know what's happening to her, too."

"So you want to know something Angie doesn't know herself?" Oblivion asked me.

"Come again?"

"Christie, I've had to keep it secret from Angie for her own good. You're her friend, I know what you're like, you _will_ tell-"

"Doesn't she have a right to kn-"

"Christie she's in much more danger than you could possibly fathom!" Oblivion snapped, which made me raise my eyebrow.

"Angie is no different from any other hybrid," I said. "I mean, sure she's called a Threat by the Superiors, but other than that she's just another hybrid." Oblivion narrowed his eyes at me, what the Hell got him so pissy?

"You have no idea what damage Angie is capable of. That girl can cause more damage than she's aware of," He said in a low voice. I didn't get a chance to reply as he went on. "Imagine having the power to destroy worlds with a single thought. Being able to destroy and create life, power beyond anything else," He started pacing back and forth. "Why do you think the Superiors are scared of Angie? She's not just some everyday hybrid, she's got some power festering inside her that is impossible to control," I raised my eyebrow, still focusing on the God. He noticed this and breathed in. "Why do you think she has that Calixto Orb- that Silver Materia? That's what controls her Goddess powers!" Then he delivered his revelation. "Don't you understand Christie? Angie isn't just _any_ God! She's the incarnation of the very _first_ God!"

Taken aback I blinked several times but other than that I was totally frozen. That's impossible. Angie is a God, sure... but Angie _is_ God? The Beginning and End? Alpha and Omega? No fucking way. Just... no. No. Fucking. Way.

Everyone was really silent. It was scary. We all just tried to get it through our heads for a moment. Out of all the things he chose to hide... he kept this from, not only us... but Angie too...

"You..." I muttered, clenching my fists. I then gritted my teeth and stormed up to Oblivion, slapping him in the face. "You total bastard! How could you keep that from your own niece! I thought she was like a daughter to you!" I slapped him again on the other cheek before curling up my hands into fists. "You fucking hurt her! You scar her and you leave her and you have her worrying herself sick because you're not there!" I was about to slap him again but he grabbed my wrist and squeezed it hard. His gold eyes were dulled but looked empty of feeling.

"... Would Angie have stayed sane if she knew?" He said slowly, sterness in every word. I breathed in and out heavily, trying to regain my composure. At this point I had totally forgotten that Cloud, Tifa... everyone was watching and listening. "Would she?" Oblivion asked me, shaking me slightly as he tightened his grip on my wrist. If this was anyone else I would have forced my blade out and cut up his hand. "I was doing both of you a favour hiding it until now. I wasn't going to let Angie die because of this!" My mouth curled up in a snarl and I gritted my teeth.

"You're death! You should know!" I barked. "It shouldn't hurt you!" At this I felt Oblivion's hand crush my gauntlet. I felt the metal dig into my wrist and I did my best not to wince.

"How would you feel if you had to look at everyone you loved and know exactly when, where and how they would die!?" He yelled very uncharacteristically. It actually scared me a little. "Christie, Angie is like my daughter. I'll do anything to keep her from harm, even if it means dying." I knew Oblivion. He wouldn't say something like that if he didn't mean it.

"... You're going to die," I stated, staring at him. He didn't seem surprised. He knew he was going to die. "When?"

"Not now," He replied, loosening his grip. "Swear you will not tell Angie. She doesn't understand that she can't stop it. She'll try to. I won't let her kill herself trying to stop my death." I just stared at him blankly. I took a few moment to process the request. I can't tell her Oblivion is meant to die. When, fuck know. I never thought that these words would come out my mouth...

"I will..." My words were drawled out, clearly uncertain but prepared to comply. He let go of my wrist and I pulled back. "Just... this has been fucking irritating me to no end... why the fuck did you scar her!?"

"A Guardian spell Fina taught me," Oblivion replied. "I thought it was strange, but those three scars represent three barriers that protect Angie. You have to kill her three Guardians to kill her. I'm one of those Guardians, thus if I stay close to Angie, she could also die if I am killed."

"Who are the other two?" I asked, remembering the three scars on Angie's face.

"It's not me to choose the Guardians. Angie picked them herself," Oblivion told me. I shook my head, not wanting to go into it further. Hearing a cough I turned to the group, who I suddenly remembered were standing there, and Omen gave a small wave.

"Guys... I think I speak for all of us when I say... What?" He spoke, making Oblivion nod at him.

"Never changed, did you?" He asked. "I apologise that this is well oper your heads... it must be awkward to be listening and have no idea what is going on."

"Although some of us seem to follow more than others," Vincent suddenly spoke, making Oblivion turn to him and squint for a few seconds. He then gave a small smile to the cloaked man.

"Vincent Valentine, I didn't recognise you under all that hair and the cloak," Oblivion nodded politely. "I'm sure we can catch up in plenty of time... we've wasted enough being here."

"Way ahead of you, I'm off," I then turned and started going deeper into the Crater. If Sephiroth has any sense he'd better give back Angie. He wouldn't like to see me mad.


	57. Doomsday

Doomsday

"Oblivion, what is the deal with this Reunion?" Christie asked as we travelled further into the depths of the Northern Crater. Although Christie had gotten a headstart I eventually caught up and took the lead. It wasn't difficult, seeing as she was storming around. The girl doesn't get anywhere fast like that, it's better for her to follow in that state.

"It's Jenova's Reunion, that thing is regrouping and we have to make sure that doesn't happen," I replied, climbing over a bit of rock. "All the cells are congregating here, and now that the body of Jenova is here, we're going to have to act fast."

"How did the body get here?" Cloud asked, following only slightly behind Christie.

"Somehow it took Sephiroth's form to get around," I answered, dropping down a two foot cliff and continuing on my way.

"Okay, what do you mean?" Christie stopped me by grabbing my shoulder and turning me around to face her.

"I mean that Jenova can transform into anything it wants, and turn others things into what _it_ wants," I told her, getting slightly angry. Realising that I was I took a breath to calm myself. "What I mean is that Jenova took Sephiroth's form to travel here. It was Jenova at the Temple of the Ancients-" I stopped myself when Christie gave me a glare.

"You were there!?" She yelled, gripping my shoulder tighter, so I pried her off me and kept a distance between us by walking backwards as she advanced.

"Yes, but you _know_ why I couldn't do a damn thing about approaching Angie," I told her. "Don't even _think_ about getting mad about this!" I breathed again, finding that I was losing my temper more easily than normal. "Christie, just don't even start on this." I turned my back and she grabbed my shoulder again.

"Fine, I'll start on this," She said in a low voice. "Why did you blind me?"

"I didn't," I replied. "Your Aura was dormant. Once Sin was defeated you would be alone. It was to protect you."

"It manifested into a monster, it's had me unable to see for years. Face it I'm fucking blind!" Christie growled. Pulling my shoulder away again I turned to face her, folding my arms over my chest.

"You're choosing to be blind," I told her stiffly. "You're too stubborn to realise that you can control it more than you think you can. Aura's like a switch, it can be turned on and off," Christie peered over her Looking Glass, her left eye covered up yet her right glowed golden. "It's a matter of will, Christie, and you have one of the strongest wills I've seen." She just kept staring for ages, that is until she blinked and the gold glow in her eye faded. In surprise, and disbelief, she removed her Looking Glass and stared at me, eyebrow raised.

"... I see you," She said, with no surprise, just monotone. I turned away and started walking. It wasn't long, however, until I confronted once again. But not by Christie.

"Where's my sister?" Omen blurted out quickly, it made me turn to him. I wished to be irritated with the boy, as I felt interrogated enough by Christie. I had no right to be. He's given up everything right now. Yet I felt torn between two vows. Looking away, I remained silent. To that reaction Omen stepped closer to me. Unlike Christie, he remained nervous and shy towards me, like a young child. "You said... you'd help find her... I wanna know where she is..." I felt tremendous guilt for leading him down this garden path. I could have told him where his sister was months ago...

Ghost made me swear not to tell.

"Sir... I wanna know where my sister is..." Omen barely even made eye contact with me when I turned to face him. I may have sworn not to say, but Omen did have every right to know. Taking a deep breath, I tried to break it to him easily.

"Ghost told me... that she's not your sister anymore," With that Omen looked at me with tear filled eyes. It seemed as though he was falling apart behind his purple irises. No... it didn't seem like it. It was the harsh truth. He was breaking down. Yet I continued. "She doesn't want you to see what she's become. She said she wasn't the Ghost she was before. She was someone so different, not who you knew. Not who were looking for. She told me that... that she was dead." I felt so horrible for saying those things. It still astounded me that Ghost was able to think like that. It hurt me badly to see Omen fighting back tears. It pained me just to keep walking to find Angie, without giving Omen any sort of comfort.

When I turned back to look at him. It was horrible to see that no one else was giving him comfort. Omen himself, however, stood straight, breathed in shakily, and simply kept walking.

* * *

Soon we had reached our destination, climbing down to the central part of the Crater where we spied several figures already there. A few I recognised but some were new to me. Dropping down I immediantly composed myself and began to confront the Shinra employees.

"Hey! Oblivion what are you doing?" I heard Christie call. I simply ignored her and continued on my way.

"Well it's a surprise to see you all," I stated rather loudly to grab their attention quickly. I felt a smirk form on my face as they turned their heads. "What brings the big Shinra corperation to such a down trodden place such as this?" The young brunette wearing handcuffs looked rather shocked at my appearance, as her blue eyes grew considerably. However several others were not as surprised.

"Hmph, if it isn't you," Hojo scoffed, clearly unimpressed by my presence. Never-the-less I went above him and ignored him.

"Well it doesn't really seem like anywhere the higher ups of Shinra should be. Really, shouldn't you all be back in Midgar getting the Turks to survey the place?" I know I had insulted Vincent a little there, and the auburn haired Turk, her name escapes me as with the brunette girl, found offence in this, yet kept her calm.

"Hojo, you know this man?" The young blonde asked. From his eyes I could tell he was the President's son, Rufus. He had certainly grown up to be a fine young man, yet he seemed to hold the arrogance his father had in life.

"This is Oblivion Furanio, he used to work with Shinra-"

"When you were nothing but a weaponry development, how long has it been? Thirty years?" I quickly interjected the scientist with a smile, but it wasn't a pleasant smile, it was more out of sickening politeness. "Mr Shinra I'm rather offended you wouldn't reconise the name, my wife worked for Shinra, one of the brightest scientists you had."

"And now she is dust, Oblivion," Hojo remarked. I immediantly turned to him and glared, using all my will to not rip him apart. He pushed up his glasses and continued. "In fact, all of them are dust now. I am the only living participant of the Jenova Project. You were simply a bystander, Furanio." I narrowed my eyes, feeling my teeth grind together.

"Shame how all the intelligent scientists are no more," I retorted, just barely keeping my calm.

"Right you lot, before you all start ripping one another apart can someone tell us where Angie is?" Christie stepped in, hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised over the Looking Glass.

"Oh, little Angie's went missing?" Hojo sneered. "Not much of an uncle now are you, Oblivion?" I replied by throwing my fist into his chest, knocking him back onto the ground. The young Turk advanced towards me and swung a right hook, to which I ducked under, grabbed her wrist and flipped her down onto her back then stood calmly as though the attack didn't happen.

"Sephiroth must still have her," I responded, walking past Rufus and scanning the crystalline walls. "And I strongly suggest that you all get out now."

"Who made you in charge?" Scarlet scoffed. Ah, she's lost her looks over the years, shame. "Oblivion you're not part of Shinra, we could arrest you like the rest of those Avalanche scum you have with you."

"Said the pot to the kettle!" The brunette snapped. There was a small shake of the earth and part of the crystalline wall cracked and there was a roar.

"What was that?" Rufus asked, demanding an immediate answer. I stared at an eye open from within the wall, casuing me to back away.

"... Those are Weapons. They're gonnae be a heck of a lot stronger than Jade Weapon," The brunette answered. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow and she stared back.

"How do you know about the Weapons?" I asked. The girl blew strands of hair from her face before her blue eyes focused on me alone.

"Because my best friend faught one, _Reaper_," The name made me wince. The girl was familiar with me. I swear I had seen those eyes before in my life. If only I could put a name to her face...

"Wait," Omen's voice cracked. He squinted at the girl before recognising her. "Nevina?"

"Omen?" She asked back in surprise.

"You two know each other?" Christie piped in before another small earthquake occurred, although it was stronger than the previous one, as it caused us to stumble and rocks from the top of the cavern fall down. "Screw that, we have to get out of here!"

"Not until we find Angie!" I snapped at the girl. A larger earthquake erupted and we fell to the ground, looking up I spotted a large crystal with something inside it and... upside down advancing towards it was.... Cloud. "When did he get up there!?"

"What!?" Christie looked up, attempting to stand but falling from the increasing magnitude of the earthquake. "Shit! What the fuck you think you're doing!?" Cloud didn't respond to us... I squinted my eyes and realised that...

"Cloud's giving him the Black Materia!" I exclaimed, getting to my feet but crouching.

"Oh come on you have _got_ to be kidding!" Yuffie exclaimed, whining.

"How the fuck did he get it?" Cid asked, looking up.

"Does it matter?" Hojo quipped. "The Reunion has begun." I growled and raised my voice loudly at him. "Amazing, Sephiroth himself is controlling Jenova's Reunion, fascinating..."

"You knew this would happen!" I yelled, my voice echoing and causing more rocks to fall.

"Of course... and your precious neice is part of it too," Hojo smirked. I felt my blood boil as I raised my scythe and let out a loud war cry, swinging my scythe down at him-

"Enough of this!" Rufus yelled. "This will not solve anything, we must evacuate!" I growled and withdrew my attack, backing away as the Weapon opened its eyes again. Nevina was dragged away by the Turk, and everyone began running, except for Christie and myself.

"You're gonna get yourself killed if you don't come!" She called. I turned to another wall and approached it slowly. "Oblivion! She might not be here!" I ignored Christie and walked stared intensely into the crystal wall. "Gah! Cloud! Oblivion! For fuck's sake both of you stop it!" I raised my scythe and started attacking the wall. My niece was in there. "Oblivion!?"

The Weapons began to climb out of their slumber and exit the crystalised Lifestream as I attacked the wall. Angevale was locked inside there, her skin diffusing like it was burning, her scarf and clothes burning away. She couldn't move. She stared at me with helpless, scared eyes. Her childlike eyes... like... when I scarred her...

"Oblivion get back!" When I managed to crack the wall I turned to Christie, seeing her charge a large amount of Aura. Immediantly I got out of the way as she shot it towards the wall, shattering it as Angie fell to the ground, weak and soaked in liquified Lifestream. The earthquakes got stronger as we both picked her up and escaped the Crater quickly to the Airship Shinra had.

* * *

We stared out of the Airship as we barely escaped from the Crater. Christie and I still had Angie, unconscious now, inbetween us and both of us holding her up. Nevina was beside me and next to her was a silent Omen, his eyes sparkled as though he was about to have a breakdown. Tifa has also been knocked out from the explosion that occurred when we got away, Lifestream and Weapons bursting from the Earth... almost every single one of them. The Ultima Weapon had blasted past us but thankfully it didn't cause damage to the Highwind.

".... Wit happens now?" Nevina asked, breaking a long silence between us all. Not even Cid or Barret were cursing, nor was Yuffie complaining. Omen didn't give the answer to her question as he normally would have. Christie didn't answer either.

"Sephiroth now has the Black Materia..." I answered in a low voice. "What happens... is that Meteor will be summoned... and it's possible that everyone could die."

* * *

And that _finally_ ends the Cetra Arc. Next is the Weapon Arc, and this will reveal a lot more about Angie's origins as well as show Christie and Omen's real strengths, and Oblivion will give more information about what really happened thirty years ago.


	58. Execution

Execution

Barret and I both looked at Tifa, who was still unconscious from the blast at the Crater. It's been a week now since it happened, I'm not that surprised that Tifa's been out so long. Her mind's probably still in shock about Cloud giving the Black Materia to Sephiroth. None of us have got any clue about how he got it, but Hojo explained to us that he had Jenova Cells inside him as well.

Despite Shinra being so nice, giving us an escape from the Crater, as soon as we landed in Junon we were under arrest and Barret, Tifa and I have been sectioned off here. I haven't seen anyone since then, but I know that Oblivion and Angie were taken away separately from the rest. I know Oblivion wouldn't escape, we would have known by now if he did. He's probably gonna get us all out at once.

I was still a bit shocked at what he told us a week ago. That he will die, my Aura, Omen's sister. I think Omen had went practically mute from the shock of it. Hell he's only said two words ever since he found out. Still surprised he hasn't cried yet either. He looked as though he was about to as well.

"... Think she'll wake up soon?" I asked Barret after a long silence. I sat on one on the beds, one leg over the other, brushing hair from my face. I still wore the Looking Glass, even though I could see fine now. It was more of a security blanket than anything.

"Damn I hope so," Barret replied, pushing himself off from the wall. "What d'you suppose she'll do when she does?"

"Maybe ask about Cloud, most likely," I replied, shrugging slightly. "And ask how long she's been out... I don't know... Meteor as well..."

"I can't believe Cloud did that!" Barret exclaimed.

"It wasn't his fault, Sephiroth was influencing him," I said. I felt so defeated right now. I could escape myself, but I wasn't going to abandon my friends. Hell... it kind of felt like when we were captured by Yevon all over again. Still, even if I could escape I could never live with myself knowing that I left everyone else behind...

We both quickly shot our heads towards Tifa, who groaned lightly before opening her eyes. She was about to close them again, but I spoke up before she could.

"How do you feel?" I asked. Her eyes opened more and Barret also helped along.

"You've been out for a long time," He said. Tifa's eyes opened fully and she weakly sat up in the bed. I somehow managed to make a small smile go across my face, despite the atmosphere of defeat around.

"Cloud..." She mumbled, making my smile fade. None of us knew what happened to him. We don't know if he survived or not. Oblivion didn't say anything either.

"We don't know," I said as she sat up, holding her head. "None of know if Cloud's alright or not... sorry I'm just gonna make you worry more..."

"No Christie... better telling the truth than lying to make me feel better..." Tifa shook her head, it was clear that she was upset though. ".... How long was I out?"

"Lessee... 'bout a week," Barret answered, then went on to tell her about what she missed. "Those Weapons that were in the Crater wi' Sephiroth are now all around the place tearin' shit up, and in the Northern Crater Sephiroth's put up a barrier."

"You mean the Weapons are protecting Sephiroth?" Tifa asked in shock. I shook my head.

"I don't think so... Oblivion said to me on the Highwind that the Weapons were created to stop any threats to the Planet," I piped in. "Sephiroth's stronger than them... so they can't stop him..." There was a silnce before I added in a little more. "Rufus has been fighting it ever since the awakened."

"The guy's got balls," Barret added. Then Tifa asked the question we were dreading.

"... Meteor?" Barret and I looked at each other before he went to the window and opened the shutters. Outside the sky was orange with the sunset... but higher up it was red. A large flaming rock... Meteor... it was slowly advancing towards Gaia. Tifa had ran towards Barret as I stood up and looked out at our doom.

It was the it dawned on me... seven years ago, everytime Yuna Summoned Ifirt and he used that Meteor Strike... I felt sick in my stomach. When I look at Meteor now... that feeling came back. Angie got the same feeling... it was a foreshadowing of this... it's not coincidence...

The door then opened and we all turned to see Rufus, the Shinra executive Heideggar and several soldiers entering the room. I folded my eyes and stared at them dully.

"I'm surprised Cloud hasn't come to save you," Rufus smirked, flicking back his blonde hair. Tifa looked both hurt and angry at the statement. "Pity, Hojo wanted to check up on your friend. He's been enjoying checking up on Angevale though."

"What do you want?" I snarled. Rufus didn't seem effected, like he had a trump card of some sort.

"It's better someone be punished for this," He stated. "We've prepared your public execution now, as you caused this situation to begin with."

"What!?" Barret and I exclaimed. I clenched my fists, but I didn't let my blades come out. Our weapons had been taken from us, but they didn't know about the ones in my body.

"What are you gonna get out of killing us!?" I asked in a raised voice. Again, Rufus held his smirk on his face.

"People are ignorant. As long as someone is being punished then they'll feel better about the situation," He then left the room and allowed the soldiers to tie us up for our deaths.

* * *

Scarlet had taken me down away from Barret and Tifa, saying she had something special for me. Indeed she had: a firing squad. How nice of her. She slapped me in the face and shoved me to the wall.

"Looks like you're finally getting what you deserve, bitch," She snarled, slapping me again.

"... You hurt any of my friends and I will kill you," I warned her, earing myself another slap before she ripped off my Looking Glass and snapped them in two before tossing them to the ground. I closed my eyes and she slapped me again.

"You better open your eyes, I want you looking down the barrels of those guns when the whole world sees you die!" She snarled before storming off, probably to arrange the other executions. I kept my eyes closed as I heard the guns being raised and cocked. I breathed in deeply then held it.

I wasn't gonna go out like this...

"Fire!" The bullets came towards me, but I had already surrounded myself with a magnetic barrier that stopped the bullets a foot away from me. I dropped the barrier and the bullets fell to the floor. I then opened my eyes and let my Aura glow extremely bright like it did before I could control it. I blinded the soldiers and quickly toned down the Aura in my eyes before using Magnetism to throw them all out the way and began running for the exit.

* * *

I ran through the building, beating up any soldier that got in my way, which wasn't to difficult as the alarms had went off as a Weapon was approaching. I really hoped everyone else was using the situation to their advantage, but then again I couldn't find anyone. Or an exit to this place for that matter.

I skid across the floor and then burst down the the corner. I could hear footsteps running and instinctively I clenched my fists, ready to attack whoever was around the corner. As soon as I turned the corner and raised my fist but immediantly stopped myself when I realised it was Barret and Cait Sith.

"Och Christie I'm glad tae see yer alright!" Cait Sith exclaimed. I lowered my fist and smiled a little.

"On our side I take it?" I asked, to which the cat nodded.

"C'mon guys follow me," He said, leading us towards the exit.


	59. Sapphire Weapon

Sapphire Weapon

I sat quietly looking out of the large window, my hands cuffed in front of me, rested on my lap as I felt miserable in my current situation. Oblivion sttod beside me, his hands cuffed in the same way as mine. He looked deep in thought as he looked outside. I had woken up in the Airship, just before we landed in Junon a week ago. My clothes were damaged, I had holes in my jeans and top, and my scarf had been cut short as though it had been ripped up at both ends. Oblivion hadn't said much since we had been arrested, then again I had been locked in a lab with Hojo prodding me and draining me of blood while my uncle was being interrogated my Rufus about the Weapons and Sephiroth and how to defeat them.

At this moment in time Rufus had brought us to a large office for some reason... I didn't know what. I frowned as I stared outside. I couldn't believe that we had gotten into this mess. We're just mere prisoners now...

"I'll get you out of here," Oblivion said suddenly. He said that everytime he seen me now. I believe him... I couldn't look at him though. "Angevale, I'm sorry for everything. I promise I'll get you and your friends to safety. I promise."

"Oblivion..." I mumbled, not looking at him still. "I don't want you to go."

"I understand, but I have to protect you... you know the Superiors will kill you if I stay," He replied. "Then they'll take your powers..."

"... What am I God of?" I asked. I didn't know. I didn't know what my own God powers were. I've never embraced the God side of me. Oblivion knew. He may have stayed silent for a good few minutes but I knew he knew.

"... The First God," He finally answered. I didn't feel any shock or fascination from it. I still couldn't look at my uncle. He kept going. "The Gods are afraid of you because you're stronger than them."

"Oblivion... I'm not stronger than anyone," I told him, being quite serious. "Not you, not Christie, not the Superiors... no one." We both looked as Rufus and Heideggar approached. The young President stood and looked out to the ocean while Heideggar stood by him.

"So are either of you willing to talk?" Rufus asked, not looking at us. Neither of us answered him, so he turned to us. "I won't ask again. If you don't tell us about Sephiroth and the Weapons you'll both be executed like the rest of your friends."

"Go ahead and try," Oblivion challenged with a sneer. I remained quiet. Rufus narrowed his eyes, he knew he wouldn't get what he wanted from us, but he would try anyway.

"Fine, you're niece can give Hojo another blood donation," Oblivion snarled as Rufus smirked before the alarms started to go off. Weapon was attacking. Oblivion stared out of the window and straightened his posture and tightened his clenched fists. I looked out to the cannon which was loading up to fire. Rufus seemed to remain calm as all the soliders were running out to fight the Weapon.

"Do you honestly think you can take it out?" I asked him. "That thing was made by the Planet itself! Firepower won't work against it!"

"Then what would work against it?" Rufus asked. I shut my mouth there and then. I didn't know how to stop it. "Thought as much," He scoffed, turning back to observe the ocean.

"Fire the cannon!" Heideggar ordered. In an instant the Mako Cannon fired off into the distance until it had went out of sight. It was silent for a few moments and I noticed Oblivions fists tighten more.

"... Did we get it?" Rufus asked. After another silence the alarms went off again. The Weapon was still coming towards Junon. The President glared at Heideggar in rage. "You didn't get it you moron!"

"That's not possible we hit it dead on!" Heideggar protested.

"Clearly not," Oblivion quipped with obvious distain. Rufus glared at him but then quickly went back to trying to stop the Weapon from reaching shore. "Angie, run," I looked at Oblivion, confused. "Run, I'll stop the Weapon. Find your friends and get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you behind," I told him, biting my lip. I couldn't watch him go again. Oblivion just looked at me, but he looked sad as well.

"I'm sorry Angie... but I promise you'll see me again," He looked out to the ocean, spotted the Weapon rising and broke his handcuffs, sending a misty grey blast to the window, shattering it and then breaking my own handcuffs. "Go! Go now!" I immediantly ran to the door then looked back at him. He nodded at me. "You're a lot stronger than you think you are." He leapt out the window and released his wings, flying into the distance. I felt so mad as he flew off, but I couldn't hold it against him.

* * *

"Don't let her get away!" I had a platoon of soldiers chasing after me as I ran through the building. I had managed to find the labs I had been tested in, my weapons had also been tested on too. Right now I was running as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going though. I needed to get out of here.

There was a blast of light that ripped through the wall just before I reached the end of the corridor. I looked out to see the Weapon ravaging the city whilst being bombarded with explosives and firepower. I tired to find Oblivion, but I couldn't even see a glimpse of him.

"Oblivion... please be safe..." I whimpered. I heard the soldiers behind me and I pulled out my sword. Remembering Oblivion's words...

I set my left hand on fire and moved it in a circular motion before intensifying the orange flames to white, blasting it at the soldiers and turning them to ash, also melting the metal corridor slightly. Without hesitation I ran though. I still had to get out of here.


	60. Prison Break

Prison Break

"Missy what the Hell did you do to piss off the Shinra?" Cid asked me. Again. I put my hand tae my forehead and. I felt dead sick and hungry. Prison wasn't all that compassionate tae be honest.

"Look, when I say I dinnae want tae talk aboot it, I dinnae want tae talk aboot it," I telt him. That had been my answer all week. "Feck wit happened tae that Yuffie lass? Thought she wis gonnae get us out here?"

"That ninja girl ain't to be trusted," Cid scoffed, folding his arms. I looked at Omen, who wis pacing the room, being mute as he had been all week. He had his hands on his hips as he paced around. Not too sure why he wis like this, then again I didn't really ask. Felt tae awkward tae.

"Ye think we'll ever get out of here?" I asked. It had been a week now and I wis getting really concerned if we'd ever get out. I hadn't been in Junon fer ages, but this wis hardly a tourist visit I wis on. Not only that, that fecking Meteor was getting closer with every passin' day. "And wit aboot Meteor? Ye'd think that somethin' would be done by now!"

"You got an idea Missy?" Cid asked, deadpanning me. I looked down. I didnae. "Everyone on the fuckin' Planet is panicking about that fucking rock! If someone had an idea we'd stop it by now."

"You 'hink I dinnae know that?" I snapped at him. I tried tae keep my calm by breathing in deeply. "Look, wit I'm saying is that the Shinra are obsessed wi' killing those Weapons they're ignoring the real threat. Then again that's nothin' new..."

"What d'you mean by that?" Cid asked me again. I wisnae tae surprised that everyone else wis keepin' quiet. Well wi' the exception of Omen 'cause he always talks.

"I meanin' Hojo," I told him bluntly. "That bastard 'as a lot tae answer fer. Honestly I'm more than happy tae rip his head aff."

"What did he do to you?" The red cloaked guy asked. I never caught his name actually. Sighing I twisted my ring up and down my finger.

"... Somethin' personal..." I answered, feeling dead upset now. My friends... my family... I blamed Shinra fer daein' it all... But I blamed Hojo tae...

"I can't stand bein' here and doin' nothin'!" Cid suddenly exclaimed, getting on his feet. "It's a load of shit! We could be out there stoppin' Sephiorth and those bastards at Shinra but they've got us locked up here!" At this point Omen had begun to whimper, looking up at the ceiling. He bit his lip for a few moments before I noticed a few tears on his face.

"Is he alrigh'?" I asked quietly tae Cid. Before he could answer with 'Does he _look_ fucking alright!?' Omen's hands clenched up, ice formin' on them and mist appearin' around them. He let out a yell before aiming for the door and freezin' it completely and then roundhouse kicking it, totally shattering the door and givin' us an exit.

* * *

As Omen ran out I noticed he left frosty footprints and ice formed around the path he ran. With little hesitation we all ran after him with little trouble as any soldiers we encountered were either ice statues or ice statues that were missing the top half and bloody.

We had followed Omen out tae the streets while the Weapon wis attacking. In fact it was dead close tae Junon now. Omen had slowed down, at this point, looking up at the Weapon. He had two fans made of ice in his hands. Once we had caught up tae him I looked where he wis lookin'. With the Weapon there wis a large black and red dragon. It wisnae half the size of the Weapon, but it wis still feckin' big! Wisnae sure why a dragon wis here and why it wis fightin' a Weapon, but at least we had some help in stopping it.

Omen snarled and blasted a large beam of ice at the Weapon. The ice froze the water around it and went upwards, freezing the Weapon. He didnae need tae aim much since we were practically right under the cannon!

The dragon had noticed the ice freezing the Weapon and tried to get away. It would have it the cannon didnae go aff and blast the Weapon's head right aff it! The dragon fell down from the sky, but it must have still been conscious fer a few moments as it steered its flight downwards down taw near where we were. Immediantly after it landed Omen ran towards it so we followed.

As soon as we got there though, the dragon had been replaced wi'... him... that Reaper... Omen got onto his knees and shook the red head. He seemed really angry but he soon calmed down and healed the cut on the Reaper's head. The man's eyes opened and he sat up. He looked a state. He was covered in blood and gashes and his clothes were burnt.

"Hey guys!" I looked over and seen the Airship Highwind with that Christie girl on the deck. It hovered lower and she threw out a ladder and a rope. "Quick get on!" We did as she said and we climbed on before she pulled up the ladder and rope, looking at the Reaper.

"Angie's going to be safe, before you start-"

"You were the dragon," Christie interrupted, staring at him. She didnae have her sunglasses on her. Didnae realise how grey her eyes were. "Seven years ago you were the dragon then too. Just didn't realise it until now." The Reaper folded his arms and smiled a little.

"It's just another form of my powers... I am a Dragoon Daemon... partly," He said. Okay I'm lost now. Christie gave a shrug before looking over to the cannon, squinting.

"Is that... Tifa and Angie?"


	61. Escaped Again

Escaped Again

I had eventually managed to make my way into a large theatre room where I found that women Scarlet and a few soldiers trying to open a door. They hadn't noticed me yet, so I approached them without being noticed.

"Open this door now!" Scarlet yelled as her soldiers tried to pry it open. I wasn't too sure who was on the other side, but I had a feeling it was one of my friends. I formed a fireball in my hand, turning the flames blue and whistled, catching their attention. I threw the fireball, catching one of the three soldiers and the door, melting it enough for me to run through it and finding myself in a gas chamber, as well as seeing a familiar pair of legs just go out of sight.

"Tifa!" I called, climbing up and through the hole after her. She looked at me as I climbed out, then sighed with relief.

"Good to see you're okay," She said. I nodded and followed her down the metal structure.

"You think we'll escape?" I asked her, noticing the soldiers and Scarlet beginning to follow as we clambered down as fast as we could. Soon it went down to one soldier as one of them plunged down to their death after misplacing a hand or foot. We continued down and ran towards across the Mako Cannon. Unfortunatly it was a dead end. Then again that was expected.

"You know, the execution may have failed," We turned around to see Scarlet advancing towards us. I pulled out my gun and aimed at her. She scoffed and pulled out her own pistol, shooting at my hand. I cried out and rubbed my hand. "I'm sure seeing the two of you plunge to your deaths into the water will be just as entertaining."

"You heartless bitch," I snarled, shooting my gun into her thigh. Tifa slapped her in the face but Scarlet slapped her back. I threw a fireball at the bitch and burnt her shoulder and arm. She shot at us again, me in the arm and Tifa in the shoulder.

"Stuck up til the end," Scarlet snarled. We backed away from her and her soldier slowly. Neither of us were in the right state to fight.

A few seconds later we heard a sharp whistle and propellers.

"Run!" Several familiar voices called out to us. Immediantly Tifa and I responded and we bolted down the cannon, seeing the Highwind Airship rise up. Christie threw down the rope as we narrowly avoided gunfire and leapt off, grabbing the rope at different point and climbed up it to the deck.

* * *

As soon as I got up we were a distance away from Junon. Christie held her hand out and I grabbed onto it and she helped me up, patting my back lightly before helping up Tifa. Oblivion was there as well and I immediantly hugged him tightly. He looked so terrible though it hurt a little. He hugged me back, putting a hand on the back of my head. Like he did when I was younger.

"I'm sorry I haven't been a better pa-..." He started, hesitiating for a moment. He then sighed and hugged me more. "... A better uncle."

"Dad..." I mumbled. Oblivion kept hugging me, rubbing the back of my head lightly.

"I'll have to go again," He said. I nodded solemnly, looking at the ground. He hugged me a little more. "I'm sorry Angie."

"I know..." He kissed the top of my head before letting go of me and standing on the railing. "Daddy?" Oblivion turned his head around and gave me a soft smile. "... Don't be long, okay?"

"Of course, I promise," He smiled. He then jumped off the Airship. After a few moments I could see him flying off into the distance with his wings spread. Like his body his wings were burnt and ripped a little.

"Daddy?" Christie asked, causing me to turn to her. I blushed a bit once it dawned on me what she meant by it.

"I slipped up, forgive me for that," I told her. Christie shrugged in response as the rest of the group went inside.

"I ain't judging," She replied, waiting for the others to go. I leaned against the railing lightly and she copied me after a few moments, although she leaned on it heavier than I did. "... I know he's not your real dad."

"... He's the closest thing I have to one," I replied to her, sighing as I watched him go out of sight.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he was your biological father," Christie admitted, turning her head to me. I smiled a little at that comment. Not sure why I did though.

"Sometimes I wished he and Fina were my real parents," I sighed a bit again, fiddling with my left earring. The drop one. Christie still wore my angel wing earring on her right ear, I had noticed. "I mean, I barely remember my mother... I don't even know what my father looks like... I would have felt better if I had grown up knowing those two were my real parents and... having a family."

"Yeah... I mean Vincent's... well you fancy him," Christie shrugged. "But I understand, I guess." I sighed, turning to her.

"I see you're not wearing the Looking Glass anymore," I said, changing the subject. Christie smiled a little and nodded. It had been ages since I had seen her face without them. I noticed her Aura was gone in them too.

"Yeah that bitch Scarlet broke them," She stated.

"I burnt her and shot her in the leg," I told her off handedly. She laughed a little and turned to me again.

"Thanks," She smiled, I smiled back at her. I think this was our first genuine talk that wasn't about... anything that was really going on. It was just a talk between friends. Christie took off her bandage on her eye. It looked fine now, just really bloodshot. In fact all of the white part of her eye was red. "You know, feels weird without them. Guess I got too attatched to them."

"You know once this is all over maybe you should get an eyepatch," I told her, getting a small shove and a laugh out of her. To which I laughed back. "What? You'd suit it."

"I'm sure I would," She smiled more. After a moment of silence her smile faded a little. "Angie... I think you've left me half blind..." I frowned and looked down again.

"I'm sorry..." I said sincerely. Christie sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at her as she smiled a little.

"It's cool. I was bound to get a few war scars," She stated, joking a little. I nodded as she pulled her hand away. I had noticed something.

"Since when did you have time to paint your nails?" I asked, indicating to the silver on them. Christie raised her eyebrow and inspected them.

"... I didn't..." I looked at her confused, then Christie picked at her nails a little. "Holy crap they're metal."

"What?"

"They're metal, you think it's my Magnetism developing?" She asked, to which I shrugged. "Eh, you know it won't be a big deal, so long as my nails don't clash with my outfit."

"Since when did you care about fashion?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "As long as you can run around and beat people up in it you're all set."

"Ah be quiet, eventually I'll have to be less of a warrior," Christie shrugged. "But obviouisly not now anyway."

"Yeah... come on we should go to the others," I said, walking to the door.

"Wait you saying I'll never be less of a warrior?" Christie accused. I laughed and smiled at her.

"I'm not sure... not known you any other way."


	62. Lost

Lost

"Listen, I dinnae want tae be a problem or anythin' so can you lot drop me off at Kalm?" I asked when we had escaped fae Junon. I wis never going back tae that place that for sure. Omen wis sitting by the wall starin' at the floor. Cid wis at the wheel of the Airship and steering it as far away from Junon as we could.

"Girl we lost Cloud we can't just go outta our way to take you home! Meteor is falling and we need to stop it," The tall man Barret said to me. I folded my arms at him and scoffed.

"Well I'm gonnae be more of a hinderence than a help it's better ye take me back home!" I snapped, stepping forward as though I wis about tae square him up. He had a gun on his arm and even though we were on the same side I wisnae gonnae mess wi' him.

"Won't Shinra just be after you again?" Yuffie asked me before putting her hand on her stomach and gaggin'.

"Nah, I've 'ad run ins wi' the Turks before and they'll be busy chasing you lot, I'll be fine," I replied, waving my hand a little and shrugging. "Look, it'll take a minute, c'mon this is like the fastest Airship in the world, right?" I turned to Cid, to which he nodded.

"Hey guys," Through the door came those two lassies, the last two accomplices of that break oot fe the Shinra building. The dark haired girl had spoke. "What's the plan?"

"Taking me home first," I told her, she sort of just stared for a moment then nodded.

"Okay... why you not staying?" She asked.

"Because I'm not a fighter like you guys, I'm hardly the strongest person in the world," I answered, fidgeting with my ring. "I just wanna go home, I wasn't meant tae caught up in all of this..."

"You and me both, girl," She nodded, turning to Cid. "Alright this take her home."

"Can I fly?" Omen croaked out. Poor thing I just wanted to give him a hug. Cid just looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Fuck no Omen, look at the state of you," He said, making Omen drop his head. "Ya can't fly an Airship when you feel like shit." Omen nodded slowly, so I waled up to him and hugged him for throughout the trip to Kalm.

It didn't take that long tae get back tae Kalm really, the Highwind's really fast. All of Avalanche followed me down to the entrance of Kalm, which made me feel awkward. I looked at them beforethinking for a minute. These guys saved my life, and they're gonnae save a lot more, I know it. But they need their friend. I walked back to them and fidgeted.

"Em... I think I may know where yer pal is," I said, they all looked at me weirdly. "In the South... there's an island, there's a town there called Mideel... it's near a really weak part of Gaia's crust and Lifestream tends tae shoot oot of it, like it did at the Crater."

"What are you saying?" The red haired woman asked me, I didn't look at her.

"Yer friend... if he did get sucked intae the Lifestream fae the Crater... he may be there... the Lifestream could have shot up from beneath the surface in the past week." I said. It wasn't uncommon fer that tae happen, I was sure. At least...

"Alright, we'll go there then," She was talking tae Avalanche. If she was who I think she was... then maybe...?

"Eh Angel?" I said, the woman spun round and looked at me in shock. "That's yer name... right?"

"... Angevale," She corrected. I nodded and walked closer to her. She kinda intimidated me... but I had tae know... I whispered in her ear.

"West of Mideel is a town... it's abandoned but there's something there that you need tae see... you'll know it when ye see it..." She listened intently and nodded, pulling away and walking away with her pals. This was a longshot... but she scared me the first time I met her... maybe my hunch is right.

* * *

_Christie's POV_

"What did say to you?" I asked when we walked back to the Airship. Angie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.

"Something ridiculous, it's not important," She told me. If it was whispered then it has to be important. "How did she know... that name?"

"Well you were Angel when Shinra first learned of us... and you know the media and stuff," I responded logically. She nodded and followed me onto the bridge of the Highwind. "You really think she knew what she was talking about?"

"I don't know..." Angie shook her head, sighing.

"I do," Omen suddenly said, croaking as usual. Was he really that traumatised? "Nevi knows what she's talking about... she's really smart..."

"Yeah how did you know her anyway?" I asked. That had been bugging me ever since we escaped the Crater. Omen looked down and rubbed her arm.

"When I was going to Junon to meet with you... I cut through Gongaga and met Nevina... she didn't say why she was there but she looked like a wreck..." He started. A wreck? Maybe it was the kind of wreck Omen was in. "She wanted to go home, to Kalm. I agreed to take her as far as Junon... she told me her father had recently died and she tried to stop the man taking him away..." Wait... that must be how she knew Oblivion too. He must have went to reap Nevina's father's soul. "But there was something else, something she didn't tell me. She hadn't even told any of her friends and she definitely wasn't going to tell a stranger... I told her about my plans were... I was meeting with people who'd help me find my sister..." Omen went silent after that, walking away to the window and staring out of it. Angie and I were quiet for a moment.

"... Being a Connection... has so many different meanings," I stated, making Angie turn to me.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well... I was Connected to a past that needed resolved... but I became Connected to everyone I know through a loss... we all lost someone we cared about. We're all Connected by our tortured pasts. And most likely Connected to a future only we can change..." Angie nodded slowly at my theory. I wanted to tell her so badly about Oblivion's fate. He was going to die and Angie had no clue. Hell he could be dying right now!

"Right you guys we'll head out to Mideel and see if that Nevina girl is right," Cid said, taking control of the wheel. Tifa mumbled something and I soon realised that everyone was being really quiet. I felt awkward. It kind of felt like the days before we fought Sin. Now we were no where near defeating our enemy. Sephiroth was winning. It was a right kick to the head.

"Christie are you okay?" I turned to Angie who had her head tilted to the side. "You look as though you're about to punch something." I sighed and nodded, noticing my fists were clenched.

"It's just... I don't want to lose... I don't want Sephiroth to win," I told her, feeling my fists tighten. "And that bastard's winning." Angie didn't respond to me, she just sighed and walked over to console Omen.

* * *

Mideel was a very quiet and secluded town, just at the edge of a forest near the sea. We did spend a little while asking around and looking in shops. I was with Omen who had wandered off by himself, his arms were wrapped around himself and he was staring at the ground. I honestly thought he would move on from this, but he did say he and his sister were close. He looked really sad, eyes not looking higher than the ground. I really didn't know what to do but...

"Omen, come here," I held Omen by the shoulder and walked back to the Highwind, I didn't stop until I heard a thud behind me and spun around, seeing Omen on the ground not moving. "Omen!" I knelt down by him and shook him a bit. "Omen c'mon dammit!" I heard him whimper quietly and I shook him again. "Omen!"

"Ghost..." He whimpered more, crying his eyes out now. I really didn't know how to handle him, I hadn't ever seen him cry before. I shook him again, but lightly and he just kept crying. I didn't know how to make him stop.

"Omen..." I put my hands on his shoulders and tried to look at his face, but he kept turning away from me. Sighing, I sat and stared up at the Highwind, listening to him cry. Eventually I knew what to say. "... I met her once."

At that moment Omen ceased crying, he still choked and sobbed a little but he quietened down at lest.

"... What?"

"I met her... she saved my life," I didn't get anything else out after that because Omen pounced on me and started to try and beat me, but I gripped his wrists, trying to overpower him.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" He screamed, still trying to hit me.

"It was seven years ago it doesn't matter anymore!" I managed to lift my foot and kick him off me, backing away and raising my fists in case he tried to attack me again. His hands had frosted over and he began to snarl at me like a dog. "I didn't even know she was your sister!" Omen began shaking again and feel to his knees, covering his hands and crying. I relaxed myself and rolled back my shoulders. He was acting like a hormonal teenager.

"Why did she say she was dead!? She's not dead! She can't be!" Omen bawled out through floods of tears. "She can't be dead! If she was I'd know! I'd know if she was dead!"

"Omen will you pull yourself together!?"

"I can't Christie! Just because I'm not heartless like you!" He screamed, trembling and still crying. "I need to just cry okay!?" I stood a little baffled, watching him cry even harder. Was I really that heartless? I didn't know how to help him but... I hadn't cried in eight years now... at least that's what I thought.

"Hey you two!" Cid yelled over Omen's sobs, walking over to us. "Well at least we've found you two."

"You found Cloud?" I asked.

"Yeah, but we lost Angie now," I cursed and shook my head. Fucking fantastic, well she couldn't have gone far I guess...

"Any other towns?" I asked, pacing and with a hand to my forehead. Why would Angie just wander off without telling anyone?

"... There's ruins..." Omen mumbled, standing up weakly, pointing to the West. "Nevina told me once about them... they're not old ruins... it was a town called Banora." I looked down at the pendant I had around my neck. The apple... they said it was a Banora Apple. And...

"Aerith mentioned something about Banora to Angie... when she bought that flower..." I mumbled then looked to the direction Omen pointed in. I walked slowly and turned to Cid. "Get everyone back to the Highwind, I'll get Angie."


	63. Old Home

Old Home

West of Mideel, an abandoned town with something I needed to see. I had doubt in my head about what Nevina told me. Yet again my desire to know, just like my desire to know if Vincent was really alive, took over and I did reach the abandoned town. The abandoned town West of Mideel... an old sign called it 'Banora'. The fake flower I bought from Aerith was a Banora flower.

I stood infront of graves. Many graves, as though the whole town had been slaughtered in one night... two graves stood before the rest. One held much importance to me:

_Here lies Lady Ultima Rhapsodos_

_Beloved Mother and Cherished Wife_

_May her soul Rest in Peace_

I mouthed the words on the grave. My mother's grave. A beloved mother and cherished wife... but she never married _my_ father. He died before I was even born. Unless what Hojo told me was true... that she married another man and had another child...

I gripped the Banora flower I had bought from Aerith, knowing its design came from the flowers here. I placed the flower on the grave and noticed my hand shaking. I remembered what Hojo had said... about returning to my hometown. My birthplace.

I closed my eyes and remembered way back when I spoke with Hojo that night. Loveless, my mother, Fina, my family... the fact that I'm a monster. I felt familiar to this place.

Then I remembered... something that seemed so trivial...

I _knew_ I had a brother. I _held_ him once. I _knew_ his name.

Why... why wasn't it more obvious to me? He _looked_ like my mother. He _looked _like me. That child Fina took me to see when we visited here! This wasn't anything knew to me! I had been here before! Banora was my birthplace, my brother's birthplace! Why didn't this all add up to me before!?

I cursed and gritted my teeth. I was so stupid! It was so fucking obvious! Right in my face the answers, yet I kept looking for them. I then looked at my mother's grave again, and the grave of her husband... who is pretty much my step-father. I suppose it all made sense to me now.

My father impregnates my mother, but then he dies and my mother gives birth to me here, then custody is given to Fina and Oblivion to keep me safe and she marries this man and has a child with him. But how did my mother and step-father die? What happened to my brother? And how did Nevina fit into it?

"Angie!" I heard Christie call, hearing her run towards me. I ignored her though, staring at my mother's grave. Once she stood beside me I could see her looking at me from the corner of my eye. "What're you doing here? We've found Cloud and Tifa's staying behind with him. He's been poisoned by Mako," I kept looking at the grave. "Angie are you listening?" She grabbed my shoulders and shook me to face her, but my eyes never left the grave. "Angevale!" I pointed at my mother's grave, making her look.

"That's my mother..." I said weakly, slightly surprised at how much shock was in it. Then again any child would be horrified at the sight of their mother's grave. Christie crouched down and read the stone quickly, then looked up at me.

"She died recently..." She muttered, standing. I looked away and frowned. "Five years ago... she was alive this whole time?"

"I never knew... I never really knew my mother..." All I know is that for my first five years she raised me, then passed me on to Fina and Oblivion. I barely even remember what my mother looked like, just that I resemble her. "That man was her husband." Christie looked at the other grave then stared at me.

"Douglas Rickshaw? Wait I thought your dad's name was... eh..."

"Faram Lindon," I told her. I vaguely remember telling her my father's name on some occasion but when escaped my memory. "He died before I was born... Superiors."

"Those guys have something against your family," Christie stated, looking at the graves. "No idea what happened here do you? Is this where you born?"

"No and yes," I answered. "And I do have a brother."

"Angie, how do you know?"

"Because I held him once when he was a baby!" I snapped, which shocked her a little. "I didn't know he was my brother... it's so obvious now..." I turned to a mountain suddenly, a cave was visible as the sun set behind it. I walked towards it, drawn to the cave.

"Oh where are you going now?" Christie groaned as I began to run. I went faster than her despite the fact that she was a much faster runner than I could be.

* * *

Running deep into the cave I made it into what seemed like a main chamber. The doors had been unlocked before hand some time ago... not even a year it looked like. It was cold inside, and a broken statue stood in the centre of the room.

"Angie!" I heard Christie's voice echo throughout the cave. The statue was broken but I could see that it was a statue of a woman. The face of the woman was on the ground, facing downwards. Out of curiousity I crouched down and rolled it over, finding no fascination in the face of the woman. Instead I stood and looked at the sword next to me, finding it far more interesting.

The sword was an exact replica of mine, only the sword's blade was red rather than white like my own. I gripped the hilt and pulled it out, continuing to stare at it for a long while. This was the other sword Fina forged along with mine. For my brother...

"Angie will you cut this out? We need to get back to the Highwind," Christie walked up to me and I silently pointed the sword at her. She stopped in her tracks before lightly pushing the blade from her face. "What is that?"

"Proof that I have a brother, Christie," I told her. "Fina made two swords, look they're exactly identical! Well bar the colour differences. This isn't coincidence," I looked down at the statue of the woman, bringing out my own blade. "The sister sword and brother blade... you remember Loveless?"

"Yeah, still have yet to understand it," Christie replied as she looked down at the statue with me. "What was it? A Goddess' return?"

"Partly, that was part of the story..." I sighed, glaring down at the statue. "Some circumstances made me believe that I was the Goddess of the story... instead the Goddess was really Minvera..." I gripped my sword and snarled. "That heartless bitch!" I slammed down the swords into the statue's face, breaking it apart and growling. "That bitch won't bring Paradise! She's not able to! She's pure evil!" I tried to calm myself down, feeling Chrstie's hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be fine," She said. I breathed deeply and stood, holding the swords.

"... I need to be alone for a while," I whispered. I seen Christie nod at me in approval.

"Okay, we'll pick you up on the Highwind."

"No... I mean for a longer while," I explained before she could walk away. "I need to sort some things out... before I even think about fighting alongside you again."

"You serious?" I nodded, making Christie put her hands on her hips and lower her head. "Alright, I understand but we're dropping like flies... what am I gonna tell everyone? What about Vincent?" I looked at the ground, well more specifically my brother's sword. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Christie you're a born leader... tell him... I'm sorry," I muttered. Christie began walking away after a moment, her footsteps becoming fainter and fainter as she left me alone in the cave. Looking back down at the sword I bit my lip, trying my best not to cry, remembering Hojo's words...

"_You are Fina's monster, and nothing you can do will ever change that."_

"Brother... I'm sorry... I didn't even know... when I knew along..."


	64. Materia Hunt

Materia Hunt

"That's what she said," I crossed my arms once I had finished. A few of them seemed to be a little angry that Angie left as well. Vincent didn't really say anything, not even after I rallied the message from Angie. "She's just found her hometown, and her mother's grave, she needs time to get it round her head."

"Well that's four people down!" Cid groaned. "Cloud's cataonic, Tifa's now his caretaker, Angie's gone to do fuck knows what and Omen..." He didn't insult the albino man as he sat by the wheel, looking down. I honestly don't think Cid would insult Omen after knowing him for so long. Even when he was refusing to let Omen fly I think he just wanted Omen to clear his head. I doubt Omen would want comfort from me after what happened earlier.

"Look, we're not hopeless without them, you know," I said, getting a bit annoyed at everyone being so down that our unofficial leader was gone, maybe for good. "Angie said that I was a leader before I left her, and you know what I'm not going to let her judgement down. Hell I'm not gonna let any of you down, I've been told I'm a natural born leader and right now we need one. We need to stop Sephiroth and Shinra and nothing will happen if we just lounge around hoping Cloud will get better."

"Kid you're right," Cid nodded. "Cloud ain't getting off his ass anytime soon so we gotta stop those scumbags and Meteor."

"Only one problem: we ain't got no idea 'bout what those fuckers are up to!" Barret exclaimed. He was right, we may not know what they're planning, but we can get the answer handed to us on a silver platter.

"Cait Sith," I turned to the cat, sitting on his Moogle. He glanced up at me as I walked to him. "You're part of Shinra... how high up are you exactly?"

"I'm an Executive," Cait Sith replied after a moment. Wow he was really high up. Guess they wanted those closest to the President to 'spy' on us. "And ye know wit? Yer timin is perfect, listen tae this..." We heard radio static for a few moments before hearing muffled voices. Cait Sith fixed the frequency on his radio and the voices became clearer.

"_... Faced with two problems. One: Destroy Meteor. Two: Remove the barrier around the Northern Crater and take out Sephiroth. Any ideas?" _The voice of President came through first. Sounded like he was in a meeting.

"_Gya ha ha, not to worry Sir, we have the solution to that," _That Heiddegar man guffawed. _"Meteor is already being dealt with: We'll smash Meteor into pieces by collecting Huge Materia from each region!" _Huge Materia?

"_And you believe we have the technology to do that?"_ Well of course... wait there was a rocket in Rocket Town...

"_We've already extracted Huge Materia from Nibelhiem. All that remains is Corel and Fort Condor," _Scarlet cackled. Damn that bitch wasn't dead. _"That's all we need to worry about now, Avalanche and Sephiroth won't stand a chance! Kya ha ha!"_ There was a bit more static before Cait Sith shut it off, looking at us.

"Fuck they're gonna destroy Corel for this Huge Materia! As if once wasn't enough for the fuckers!" Barret growled, ready to hit someone.

"Not if we intervene!" Cid exclaimed, taking the words right out my mouth. "We're heading straight for Corel and taking that Huge Materia!"

"Uh, and the one at Fort Condor?" Yuffie asked. She had a point, so I counted the amount of people we had and smiled to myself.

"Omen, Yuffie, Nanaki and Cait Sith, we'll take you to Fort Condor so you can secure the Huge Materia there," I stated. "After that, Cid, Vincent, Barret and myself will take the one at Corel. We'll be able to cripple Shinra quickly as well."

"Damn kid you're good at tactics," Cid smirked, heading to the wheel of the ship. "Omen, ya think you'll be able to handle it?" Omen looked up at the pilot, his eyes wide and watery, but he nodded.

"Uh-huh," He nodded, his voice cracking. Cid then pulled Omen up to his feet and started talking to him quietly, to which Omen was nodding in silence.

* * *

It didn't take too long to get to Corel after splitting with the first group. Still we ran through Corel and the tracks for good measure. We didn't want to waste any time getting there. The Reactor was guarded by twenty Shinra soldiers. We hid behind rocks not far from the entrance, watching for an opening to get by and get the Materia.

"Ya know we're just wasting time doin' this!" Cid groaned, jumping over the rocks and charging down to take out the soldiers. Barret and Vincent gave him cover fire with their guns and I just charged down behind Cid, knocking the soldiers down off the rails with kicks and punches.

"Quickly! Get inside! Don't let them get the Huge Materia!" One soldier yelled, casuing him and the remainder of them ran into the Reactor. I jumped onto the train tracks and ran towards the Reactor before being pulled off by Cid.

"What the fuck are you doing you could've got killed!" He yelled as the train passed by us. I growled as the train escaped with the Huge Materia.

"How are we gonna catch it?" I asked. I doubt Magnetism would be able to stop it from this distance. And running was out the question.

"With another train of course," Cid ran inside the Reactor and we followed suit, grabbing a train and chasing after the train ahead. Cid handled speeding up the train while I told Vincent and Barret to fire at the soldiers on the train once it was within range.

"What we gonna do!? How we gonna get that Materia?!" Barret yelled, firing lead into a few of the soldiers.

"On my signal jump!" I called, getting onto the back of the train and lining myself up for a jump. "Cid c'mon!"

"Wait a fuckin' moment missy," He yelled, speeding up the train more before letting go of the controls.

"Right... now!" Leaping onto the train I stumbled and grabbed the side, lifting myself back up and as Cid, Vincent and Barret got on we ran towards the top of the train, immediantly throwing off the driver and letting Cid take control.

"You gotta stop the train from crashing into Corel!" Barret exclaimed, realising how close we were. Cid growled and tried to stop the train, but only made it go faster. "Shit Cid do something!"

"Barret, Vincent, find the Huge Materia!" I ordered as Cid tried again, failing. I realised that no matter what Cid tried we'd crash and destroy the town, killing everyone in it, including ourselves. Unless...

I stood up on the cart behind Cid and focused deeply, breathing deeply and outstretching my arms, hearing a loud screech as I used Magnetism to slow down the train. The high pitched sound was so bad I could swear my ears were bleeding and I hoped they weren't. I seen my hands shaking with pressure from pulling back such a large object, only barely slowly it down.

"Christie what the fuck you doin'!?" Barret yelled. I couldn't avert my focus otherwise Corel would be destroyed. I could taste blood on my lips and dropping onto my gritted teeth as I put more force into my Magnetism, the screeching becoming louder and more painful I just wanted to stop but I knew I couldn't. I screamed as the train slowed down, but I used more power until it came to a complete halt, just outside of Corel.

"Holy shit..." Cid muttered, as did several other people who had surrounded the train. I, however, began to feel faint and collapsed right off the train, going unconscious.


	65. Condor Battle

Condor Battle

I leant against a rock the four of us watched Shinra soldiers march up towards us. We were the only four on the battle feild fighting for the Reactor and the Condor. Well... three of us... I didn't have it in me to fight. I tried to pull myself together but all I could do was stand there and watch.

"Omen get yourself together!" Yuffie yelled. "Those lazy asses won't give us support so we've got to take Shinra down!"

"They're wounded from the previous battle," Nanaki stated. I coughed and put my hand on my head, taking off my glasses and watching everything blur. This wasn't how I imagined fighting after being in the Crater. I'm not ready to fight again, I can't fight...

"Fine! You gonna hide behind a rock and we'll take out those bastards!" Yuffie ran down the hill to take on the Shinra guards, and Nanaki and Cait Sith followed. This was the second time this occurred.

Yesterday was the previous battle. The number of Shinra soldiers we fought was horrific. I stayed behind where I was, being horribly useless again, not even able to heal. So many from either side fell, becoming injured and dying. Soon the Fort's side deteriorated to us four. I kept trying to fight, although everytime I tried it was just hopeless.

I gripped onto the rock and groaned, trying to pull myself together but failing time and time again. I wanted to be useful so badly... I couldn't even do that. Words fail to reach me, honesty runs dry, my strength has left me.

Come on come on come on! I knew I could fight! I had to I couldn't wallow in this... in the fact that... my sister was possibly dead... I couldn't cope with it... it was near impossible...

"Omen!" I turned around weakly to see Christie running up to me, her face stained with dried blood. What was she doing here? "What the Hell you let those three... you know what, nevermind, get back inside you're more of a hinderence than a help." Christie then ran down to help the others fight. Cid, Barret and Vincent were there too. They must have got their Huge Materia...

But... she said I was useless...

I felt my stomach turn at that thought and my fists clenched. At once I felt all of my body freeze over in some blizzard of emotions. I didn't know how I felt but I just wanted to get rid of it all in one big blast. My teeth were gritted and ice froze over the rock I was at, crawling down the hill and freezing everything in it's path. The Shinra soldiers that the others were fighting completely froze over while my friends only became frozen where they stood.

I stood up straight and watched as my emotions caused hail stones the size of my fists to crash down and shatter the soldiers. The ice on the ground then shattered on the ground and cut everyone on the battle feild like glass. The Shinra were all killed in the attack, but everyone got scratches and cuts. They all looked up at me, and Christie looked at me in surprise. I narrowed my eyes and shouted down.

"Don't ever say I'm useless!" My voice echoed and I felt a metallic taste in my mouth. I touched my lip and looked at the black liquid that was dripping out of my nose. I hadn't seen that happen in years... was I really pushing myself there? Didn't feel like it.

* * *

After seeing the last of its troops become shards of blood and ice Shinra retreated from the Fort and we saved the Condor and the Huge Materia. The thing didn't even look like a Materia orb, in fact it looked like a giant crystal. It was red, while the one the other's got was green. They were in the conference room in the Highwind just for safekeeping.

I was on the deck, feeling the wind through my hair as we sailed through the dark night sky. I could feel tears fall down my face but I wasn't sobbing or choking on tears, they were just there. Sighing I pulled my hair back behind my ear, closing my eyes and rubbing my nose, a bit of blood still dripping down, but very little. I let an icy blue glow form on my hand and held it to my nose for a few seconds. Sighing when a bit more dripped onto my glove.

"Omen," I heard Christie say as she walked over to me, a green glow on her own hand. "Here." She turned me to face her and held her hand over my nose.

"Won't work," I muttered, waiting until she stopped. "I have to wait the bleeding out." She sighed and crossed her arms.

"What is it? The same thing happened to me," She stated, indicating to her face. "Cid said when I blacked out I was bleeding out my ears and nose. My ears I can understand since the screeching from that train was unbearable, but a nosebleed?"

"Maybe you saw Reno shirtless?" I joked monotonously, causing her to push me lightly. "Fine, whenever someone, no matter how experienced they are, pushes their powers to and beyond their limit... I don't what causes it but they start bleeding from places. Anywhere. Ghost always bled out of her fingernails first," Christie cringed at the thought of that. "As for me I bleed out my nose first."

"I think it was my ears first..." Christie muttered. "But why?"

"As I said, I don't know, you just start bleeding from places, doesn't matter where it starts or stops..." I thought for a moment, looking out to the stars. "It's as though your body can't cope with the pressure and power you're using."

"It's... freaky..." Christie mumbled, unable to put it into a better phrase.

"It's doesn't hurt, and it's sometimes not even noticeable. I wasn't aware I was pushing myself there," I explained.

"I had my doubt about your strength, I'll be honest," I looked at Christue, making me sigh at her.

"Chris I've said before I've been at this much longer than you have. Over four hundred years in fact," She gaped at me, as though my age was surprising. "I'm six hundred and forty-three."

"... How? You don't look a day over twenty-five," She stammered.

"Supernatural lifespan, we can live for hundreds upon thousands of years," I told her. "Oblivion is young in terms of Gods. Ten thousand three hundred and twenty-seven." Christie gaped even more at this.

"And Angie...?" I smiled a bit at her question.

"Twenty, unlike most women she does not lie about her age," I chuckled. "But really, Oblivion's considered one of the youngest Gods, people don't even know the Superior's ages, but it is known that Atrum Unus is considered the oldest God in recorded history."

"And how old is that?" Christie leaned against the railing of the deck heavily, her hands gripping firmly onto the bars.

"I don't know... my guess is hundreds of thousands of years, could be way off..." I mumbled. I remembering being told about how Atrum Unus witnessed his father's murder at the hands of some Twisted Angel, no one pinpointed the exact date, and it was only rumours after all.

"But this power thing... what if you do push yourself really hard... like _too_ hard," Christie asked. "Can you... can you die?" I pondered the question for a moment, nodding slowly.

"I've seen it once... when Alice Marie died," I said, sighing and flicked my hair back. "But I think that's... exclusive to Death..."

"What do you mean?"

"The power of Death can only be controlled for so long," I began. "The Death line are able to contain the power for so long in their bodies before it... becomes unstable."

"Unstable?"

"Erratic behaviour, forced isolation, bleeding excessively," I listed. "If it isn't taken care of... it can horrible consequences... it's never happened before but we're not risking it."

"How do you take care of it?" Christie questioned, rolling her shoulders back. It seemed like a habit now.

"... The successor of Death must kill the current Death," I said, looking at her for her reaction. She was really shocked, anhd must have known what it meant by the killing.

"... Oblivion killed his own mother?" I nodded at her question, causing her to gape more at me.

"It was horrible. Alice Marie was coughing up blood, bleeding from her ears, her eyes, her nose, her head... everywhere she was just drenched in blood... Oblivion knew that the day would come... he almost didn't do it," I explained. "I was there, so was Ghost. He said he needed people he could rely on for support after it was done."

"How long have you known Oblivion?"

"About... since I was about... a hundered an thirty-six... thirty-seven?" I answered, trying to recall my age. "Oblivion went into a state of shock after killing his mother... but he did become a very good Death."

"I suppose his reign is the shortest of all Deaths? Considering he's only technincally been Death for roughly five hundred years?" Christie caught on quickly to things.

"Yeah, I suppose, but it doen't make him any less respectable," I pointed out. "He may be a young Death, but he has done a lot of things that have changed this world, probably the Universe."

"Well of course, he's pretty must got the Superior's their death warrants," Christie stated. "Still... when he dies who will be Death? He didn't have a child... Fina miscarried."

"He considers Angie his daughter, so maybe her?" I suggested. "Death always go in a boy-girl-boy-girl order, so the next Death must be female... but that means that the Furanio line would no longer be Death."

"I suppose... but maybe that's the point? To change... because change can be okay..." Christie said, rubbing her blind eye then looking at me with her good one. "Are you gonna be okay?" I sighed and folded my arms over my chest.

"My sister told Oblivion to tell me she was dead, which she isn't. My own sister, my _twin_ sister, doesn't want me to find her," I sighed, wiping my eyes and realising the tears were done. I suppose I lost all my tears for the moment. "Christie, draw parallels... you know what's it like for someone to hurt you like that, don't you?" I walked away inside to get sleep. We'd reach Mideel in the morning and I just needed to calm myself... I felt that something wasn't right...


	66. Check Up

Check Up

In the morning Cid landed the Airship and we walked to Mideel to visit Cloud and Tifa to tell them... well Tifa, or our process and our next move. Omen seemed more collected now, standing straight and looking forward and I could swear a small smile was on his lips. He may have been trying to revert back to his optimistic mood.

When we enetered the hospital, however, the mood dropped. We could hear Tifa sobbing in one of the rooms, weeping out Cloud's name and begging for him to get better. Cloud could only reply in groans and mumbles, nothing that we could understand.

We couldn't get Tifa away from Cloud even for a moment, and I couldn't bear to see her like that. Omen was doing his best to comfort her, as was everyone else. I would have too, but I needed to head to Banora to check on Angie.

I walked through the forest by myself, heading West on the exact same route I took three days ago. It was weird but I had a really bad feeling about going. Knowing to always trust my gut feeling I kept a look out for anything odd.

Unfortunately that odd thing I had a feeling about was in the sky. A giant black monster I had seen emerge from the Northern Crater. One of the Weapons.

"Oh... feckin' feck..." I mumbled, immediantly getting out my PHS and calling Omen. "C'mon pick up... pick up..."

"_Chris where are you the Lifestream's about to burst!" _Omen yelled down the phone within a second of answering.

"Bigger problem, there's a Weapon heading straight for Mideel," I told him as calmly as I could.

"_... Wonderful,"_ He grumbled after a silence. _"Where's Angie?"_

"I'm not even at Banora yet, I'll come back and help ward off the Weapon," I hung up and jolted off back into Mideel, trying to blast the Weapon with Aura to cause a distraction. It didn't even phase the creature as the kept on course to Mideel.

The thing hovered above part of the forest near Mideel and sent a huge ray to light down. I gasped seeing tress being ripped from their roots. I flung out my blades and cut apart the trees headed straight for me.

"Omen can you hear me!?" I screamed out when I noticed white trees freezing on the spot in one direction. While I was shouting, though, one tree knocked my right guanlet straight off my arm, giving me a massive cut on my wrist. "Oh fuck!" I cradled my hand next to my chest, hacking at trees until I finally reached the clearing, battered and bruised from stray twigs and branches.

"Chris!" Omen yelled out, appearing from behind a wall of frozen trees. He healed my hand wirst and body and I used my Restore Materia. "We're screwed, I mean we're both strong but to take out that thing... miracle please?"

"We don't have to defeat it, just stop it," I told him, looking to see the Weapon land infront of us.

It was a massive thing with four legs and two arms, coloured black and purple with a pink glow on its chest. It was like a massive mutated dragon. I clenched my fists, letting Aura glow on my right arm and I ran straight for the Weapon.

The Weapon roared and stomped down but I jumped up at the right moment and blasted Aura right into the monster's chest, knocking it back. I felt that the weak point was it's chest. Omen slid to the side of the monster and formed icicles which pierced into its side. While it turned over and smacked Omen with a claw several feet away but he recovered, flipping and forming ice behind him to slide on.

I stood on the Weapon's back at this time and impaled my blades into it's neck and made it scream out and try to shake me off, rearing up vertically. I yelped and tried to tug out my blades, but they were stuck inside the Weapon's body. I gritted my teeth and tugged out, breaking the blades inside the Weapon and falling flat on my back.

"Ouch..." I grumbled, standing up and removing my gauntlet. The Weapon marched off and ripped up a large tree, tossing it right at me. In an effort to defend myself I formed Aura over my body before suddenly remembering my Aura was offensive rather than defensive. Before I could send out a blast the tree hit me and knocked my on my back, crushing my chest and ribs into my organs. I tried to push it off me but it was too heavy, no matter how strong I was.

I could see the Weapon stomping towards me so I pushed harder, gritting my teeth as I did. I even tried using my Aura but to no avail. Omen blasted ice on the Weapon's legs and froze them in place, then freezing the front legs in large blocks of ice. I heard him gag before he ran over to me, blood dripping from his nose. The fact that it was black never ceased to disturb me.

"That thing is really strong, that amount of ice will only hold it off for so long," He explained before lifting the tree as I pushed. As soon as I had some wriggle room I squirmed out from under it, gasping for air. Omen blasted more ice, causing more blood to drip out of his nose as he did so. "Chris a hand?"

"Got it," I let Aura glow on my body again and began to kick and punch mid air, it may have looked stupid but all of my attacks were hitting the Weapon because of my Aura. Omen wiped the blood off his mouth and brought out his fans, slicing through the ice and cutting deep into the Weapon, but when he did the Weapon attacked, knocking him back into a tree, which he broke right through and rolled across the ground.

Softening my Aura I ran towards Omen as the Weapon was breaking through his ice, his nose bleeding still and his coat ripped quite a bit.

"Omen," I shook him as he opened his eyes groaning, getting up as I used my Restore Materia on him again. "It's no use we'll never stop it..."

"Christie!" Omen yelled suddenly. I spun around, getting to my feet and gasping as the Weapon's claw came straight for me.

Well it would have if a massive blue fireball didn't knock it out the way, burning the Weapon severely.

Standing in front of us gripping a white sword in one hand and a red sword in the other was Angie. Her hands flickered with blue flames as did her eyes with a sort of malice and anger. She hadn't changed but I could sense her Aura was more... powerful. It was a power I had only been told of, yet had never witnessed.

Angie walked towards the Weapon and hacked it's leg with such power that it reeled back in pain, blood seeping from the wound. She hacked it again and it couldn't fight back. The Silver Materia was glowing and on her back were two glowing ovals just at her shoulder blades.

Before Angie could deal another blow the Weapon spread its wings and retreated into the skies. Angie just stared up at it, all of the glows on her fading. She turned around and ran towards us, crouching down beside Omen.

"Here," She said, a soft gold glow appearing on her hands. It was kind of like the glow of my Aura but it felt softer than Aura. She healed Omen's cuts and bruises before standing and doing the same to me. "Knowing you..."

"Eh?" I asked, seeing all my wounds were quickly disappearing. "Wait, I thought you couldn't heal?"

"I always could, I'm a Seraph, an Angel, we can all heal," She said, smiling. "Like my mother did." Wait, had she come to terms with all of this? ... I know Angie and there's no way...

"Okay, let's get back to the Highwind!" Omen stated as the ground shook. "Reunions later!" He then darted off to the direction of Mideel, with Angie and I following as the ground cracked.

"The Lifestream's going to burst!" Angie cried out, jumping over a crack. The moment I leapt up Lifestream broke through the earth and the ground opened up. I quickly grapped onto the edge, digging my nails into the ground. "Christie!"

"Go! Go get to the Highwind!" I screamed to her. I could see her running towards me. "Angie you fucking idiot go!"

"No!" She yelled, avoiding Lifestream ripping out the ground. The strange thing I had noticed was that it was trying to attack her. "No I won't leave you!" She got cut in the arm by Lifestream as I was losing my grip. Lifestream was threatening to burst underneath me as she ran faster.

"Go!" I screamed again, feeling the ground I was holding onto break and I fell down, Angie jumping to the ground and attempting to grab my hand, only an inch from reach.

"Christie!" That was the last thing I heard before plummeting into the core of Gaia.


	67. The Guardian

The Guardian

I groaned, feeling myself in a familiar situation. I stood on a platform floating in the middle of a green glow. Despite the setting this all seemed familiar to me. As though I had been here before. I was standing in the middle of the platform, looking around for anyone else who might be there. Lifestream floated past me as I searched the place. It felt like I was back in the Northern Crater.

"I'm glad to see you again, Christie," A faint voice said behind me. I spun around and looked at the woman standing there. Youthful, in her twenties or so, wavy brown hair and green eyes with the strange glow, familiar to Mako. Wearing jeans, silver high heels, a white frilled shirt and a lab coat. She was familiar to me.

"Fina Furanio," I muttered, addressing her by her married name. It always confused as to why she was known by both her maiden and married name. "Wait, how did you get here? I thought you died in Spira?"

"I did, but Lifeforce isn't limited to one place," She explained, walking towards me. "You've grown into a beautiful strong woman, Christie. Both you and Angie."

"How could you have done what you did?" I asked, cutting to the chase. Fina froze and looked away from me. "I know that you injected Jenova Cells into Ultima when she was pregnant with Angie, so tell me why. Why did you do it to yourself as well? Why didn't you tell Oblivion?"

"... There are... many things I regret in my life," She muttered. "Two thousand years ago, Jenova, known then as 'The Calamity of the Skies' arrived on Gaia. She decimated most of the Cetra and only small number of us remained. Ultima and I were two of the Cetra who sealed Jenova inside the Northern Crater, the place she arrived in, where she scarred the Planet," Fina sighed and turned to me. "Minvera detested that Calamity, I believed that if I placed Jenova's Cells into us... maybe she'd avoid our children rather than harming them... but..."

"Were the Jenova's Cells inside you cause your miscarriage?" I asked, trying to see sense. Fina choked on tears for a moment. Even in death her grief was clearly too much; too great to be relived of.

"You know I am... _was_ the Guardian Goddess?" She asked, to which I nodded. "In my pregnancy... the powers of my child were powerful, strong enough to protect them from Jenova's Cells... or at least one of them..." What was she talking about. "When I was nearly due the Supreriors kidnapped me... my child died then... mutated and destroyed by Jenova... yet he protected my other child using his Guardian powers..." Wait if she's talking like that...

"You had twins?" She nodded slowly, tears in her eyes. "Oblivion and Angie don't know... you told them you miscarried!"

"Half truth..." She mumbled, wiping her eyes. "My other son... was taken by the Superiors... and Cole Dorin..." Dorin... Malakai's creator? Malakai... it had been so long since I thought about him...

"What happened to him?" I asked. Fina was crying silently now, but she continued.

"I have not seen him since the day of his birth. Not even in Spectral form can I find my child... Oblivion's son... our son..." She sobbed out. "My sins consumed me, I couldn't bear it. I learned of the Superior's plans... I lost my best friend because of my actions... I had to raise her child while she raised another... my pain was too much..."

"Why did you have to raise Angevale?" I asked. If Ultima was alive until seven years ago, why did she give custody to Oblivion and Fina?

"She tried... she almost died trying to... we couldn't bare to see her in grief... losing Faram... then the thought of losing Angevale..." Fina kept sobbing. "Oblivion swore to protect Angie... he was a Superior himself... but he didn't know what the others were planning... because of that they halted their assassination attempts. They needed Oblivion and if they tried he would oppose them..."

"Oblivion was a Superior?" I gaped. How could he... well he does have a history of working with villains...

"It was part of his title... Death would always be in the council of Superiors... just as Faram was... seven then.... five now..." Fina mumbled, shaking as she spoke now. "I was assisted by a Sorceress to turn back Time... to protect Angie... but Ultima discovered what I done and despised me for it... using the very thing that killed our families to protect Angevale... Ultima swore to never forgive me... Oblivion had no idea..." She cried harder. "I used my own niece as an experiment... I deemed her Project A! For this I have been condemned to this... to be repelled by the Lifeforce and not know peace in my heart... I thought Death would relieve the suffering..."

"Oblivion's Death..." I mumbled, staring at her. Before I could continue she held out her hand and Lifestream joined together, projecting an image of Kilika in the sunset... so long ago I remember being there...

Oblivion and Fina sat on the pier, Fina wearing the clothes she had on now and Oblivion wearing his usual attire. He was holding Fina close to him as she sobbed, trying to hush her and comfort her.

"_Our child's gone... and Ultima hates me..."_ Fina was crying, causing Oblivion to rock her gently, stroking her hair. He had looked as if he had been crying himself, tears in his bloodshot eyes. He seemed to be distraught as the fact his child had died before he could even seen their face. Well, he would have believed Fina had a girl... not twin boys...

"_Do not blame yourself Fina,"_ He said comfortingly, hiding the pain in his voice quite well, being strong for his wife. _"Ultima will understand... she will be sympathetic to our loss... we may have lost our child but we still have Angie to look after..."_

"_Yes... Angevale..." _Fina mumbled, crying again. _"Oblivion... I beg you... drop your title of Superior... don't ask me why, but you must... I fear something horrible will happen..."_

"_The Superiors have been giving us safety... they are my compainions... when we tell them of our loss they will support us," _Oblivion explained foolishly. He didn't have a clue...

"_No Oblivion please!"_ Fina cried, looking up into his golden eyes with tear stained green ones. _"I beg you, as your wife please leave the Superior's Council! They will harm us! They will harm Angevale! They will harm Ultima! They killed Faram!" _Oblivion stared at her in shock as she continued. _"Those weren't mere Demons trying to kill Ultima! They were trying to harm Angie, that is why we took her in! Minerva killed Faram as penance for impregnating Ultima with a hybrid! They will destroy every hybrid across the Universe to cleanse it! They believe Angevale is the prophicised Threat! Look in that child's eyes and you will see she is the incarnation of the First God!"_

"_Fina, calm down..." _Oblivion eyes filled with tears which fell down his face, unable to understand why Fina was saying all of this.

"_Oblivon please I beg you!"_ Fina kept crying. _"They'll kill her and take her powers... they'll kill every hybrid in the Universe... they'll kill you and me and Ultima to start with and go from there!" _Oblivon faught his tears and kissed Fina on the forehead, seeming to believe her.

"_Tomorrow I will drop my title and ask them of this,"_ He whispered. _"For now we will go home... Angie will begin to worry."_

"_Yes... go home..."_ Fina mumbled. Oblivion then tilted her head up and kissed her tenderly, her tears dripping to his face. When he broke the kiss he smiled softly at her.

"_I love you Fina," _He told her. She nodded, trying to smile.

"_I love you too Oblivion,"_ He smiled and stood up, extending his hand to his wife. _"I will... I will be right behind you."_

"_Okay, I'll find a clear area to create the Portal," _He said, walking slowly away from Fina, not taking his eyes off her as she stood and looked out at the water. While Fina stared at the water it ripped as though waves were forming. She didn't look afraid, only in pain and crying harder. Oblivion slowed down in his steps and noticed the people running, shouting that Sin had returned.

In front of Fina w wall of water rose and she simply stared as the water wrapped around her. She screamed out and Oblivion ran faster, already running when the wall had begun to rise.

"_Fina!"_ He called out, too late as the water dropped down, taking Fina with it. Without hesitation Oblivion dove into the water after her, swimming down to its depths. He didn't care that he wasn't the strongest swimmer, nor that his lungs would be crushed from the water's pressure. His wife's safety was all that mattered to him.

When he rose from the water he lay Fina on her back as she coughed up water, having so much already fill in his lungs. He felt her heart slowing down as he performed CPR, crying the whole time as his hands shook at the sight of his wife dying in front of him.

"_Fina I'll make you live... I'll make you live..." _He whimpered, crying harder as her heart kept slowing no matter what he done. Even when Fina put her hand on his arm he didn't stop. She was crying also, using the last of the strength to do so.

"_Oblivion..."_ She whispered, but Oblivion kept trying. _"Oblivion look at me..." _He was crying as he did so, red hair sticking to his face from water and tears. He was unable to stop.

"_No Fina you'll live..." _He cried weakly, his attempts at reviving her slowly. Fina was shedding her final tears as she looked up at her husband.

"_Oblivion..." _She whispered his name again, coughing up water before uttering it again. _"Oblivion..." _She hushed him tenderly to prevent him crying more. He hand fell limp slowly as it traced down his arm, growing colder as she closed her eyes, a final tear falling as she fell asleep... as she died...

"_Fina...?" _Oblivion cried, slowly having the event set in before shaking horribly and trying to revive her. _"No NO! Fina you can't die! You can't die!" _His tears were uncontrollable as his effoerts were in vain. He knew that but he still tried. _"Fina you can't die! You can't!" _His head feel onto her chest as he kept crying. Many people circled the event but Oblivion didn't notice. _"Fina come back... I didn't know... I didn't know... why didn't I know you'd die!?" _He kept whimpering and crying over his wife's body, unable to compose himself. _"Fina... don't go... don't leave me... I didn't know..." _As the image faded I couldn't stop myself from welling up and crying at the broken Oblivion. He was completely ripped apart by his wife's death, something he didn't even know would happen despite being Death. The worst part was that it was meant to happen. His wife died and he couldn't prevent it.

Another image formed, becoming the manor in Nibelheim. It was night and Oblivion dragged himself through the manor. He looked weak and hurt, not physically but emotionally. After closing the door, rather loudly, there a small cheer of excitement from one of the other rooms.

"_They're home!"_ A young Angevale, only nine, maybe ten, ran into the foyer to greet her uncle, hugging him tightly. Oblivion seemed numb but hugged her back weakly. Sensing something was wrong, Angie looked up at her adored uncle with bright torquise eyes filled with worry. _"Uncle Oblivion?" _Unable to respond, Oblivion walked past her, dragging himself upstairs. _"Oblivion?"_ Getting no answer from him, she followed. _"Oblivion! Uncle!" _She cried, then realised something else as he got closer to his room. _"Oblivion... where's Aunt Fina?"_ Oblivion froze at this, falling to his knees and breaking down in tears. Angie ran to him and faced him, unsure of why he was crying but began to cry also. All Oblivion did was pull his niece into a hug as they cried.

"He doesn't know the truth," Fina cried. "All this time I've never been able to speak with him, haven't been able to tell him what really happened. And he can never know... Angie can never know..." I wiped my eyes, looking up at the woman beside me.

"Never know what?" I really had a bad feeling about what she'd say.

"Oblivion... that night he buried me in my family garden... and told my family about my death..." She cried. "They hate him for it... he also Fell From Grace before confronting the Superiors. They denied killing me, but he wouldn't listen. Oblivion believed that Minerva killed me, just like she killed Faram..." Fina wept even more. The pain she carried with her must have been overwhelming. "That was the only time they were being honest... because Minerva didn't kill me... I drowned myself..." I totally froze in horror.

"... What?" I said slowly, feling anger seethe within me. "How could you lie to your husband and niece? And I suppose I'll have to swear to secrecy!?"

"Christie they can't know... not yet..." Fina sobbed. "I can't let them know... Oblivion would never forgive me... his reason for doing this is for Angie's safety and vengeance for my death... the Superiors must die by their hands... it's the only way we can atone... the only way I can achieve salvation..." I growled and she looked at me. "Christie... we are Collossi, and whether you like it or not must keep this secret," She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. "Christie, I knew you'd do many good things and that's why I chose you to be my successor."

"Successor to a liar?" I scowled, which seemed to hurt Fina. "I'd never kill myself because my sins are too great."

"Christie listen to me, I beg you," Fina told me. I scoffed and looked away. "Christie steel loses much of its value when it loses its temper," I looked at her when she said that. "Please do not condemn me for my sins, I've done enough. You are my successor because you are destined to do great things, be a great woman. You will succeed where ever I failed, that's why I chose you." I looked at her with a bit of confusion.

"So I was chosen to be a hero?" I asked. Fina nodded at me.

"Your power has great responsibility though... you must when to hide the truth and when to expose it," She told me. "I did it all wrong... if you do the same as I did... your fate will be the same..."

"So... saving Angie means lying to her..." I mumbled. I couldn't all of these secrets and lies... all over the span of what? Thirty years? "Wait, you died thirty years ago, how is Angie only twenty?"

"She was suspended from Time... Oblivion used that method to protect her from the Superiors... twenty-three years they spent hunting her down," Fina explained sadly. "When they did they planned to turn her against Oblivion... somehow... she knew not to."

"Oblivion must have told her..." I muttered logically. I looked at Fina. "Are there any other secrets I should know or can I go back to my duties now?" Fina looked at solemnly before nodding.

"Please Christie, just take care of my niece... and when you both find him... my son as well..."

* * *

"C'mon Christie please wake up!" I heard Angie cry as I felt her shake my body. A cool feeling was on my forehead which I knew was Omen's healing powers. Angie's was warm.

"Well she's coming round," Omen pointed out as I opened my eyes. Angie sighed with relief down at me, as did Omen. I sat up and looked around, I was in the bedroom of the Highwind.

"How long was I out?" I asked, looking at the two.

"Most of the day," Omen replied, then pointed to Angie. "Crazy here leapt into the Lifestream after you," I looked at Angie, who only nodded in reply.

"You're family... I'd never leave you behind," She explained.

"Thank you," I said, very gratefully. I looked at her, and kept thinking of the child who lost her Aunt, and the man who lost his wife due to her sins and her pain. I was mad at Fina, but my value was less than attractive, as was my temper. I could understand her grief somehow. But the pain of both Oblivion, Fina and Angevale combined as one.

I began to cry in front of the two of them.

They didn't ask why. The only thing they did was hug and comfort me as I cried out the pain I witnessed... pain that I knew Angie would suffer because Oblivion would die.


	68. Deep Depths

Deep Depths

"Cloud?" I asked when we walked into the conference room. The blonde was standing at the far end of the table, Tifa beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am," He replied, sounding slightly different than he usually did. I raised my eyebrow slightly before nodding at him. "Listen everyone, I'm sorry for the way I acted... it wasn't me, my memories of being a Soldier weren't my own. Sephiroth manipulated me into thinking I lived another man's life."

"Fuck Sephiroth did that?" I asked him. Cloud simply nodded.

"When Hojo tried to clone Sephiroth, he injected his subjects with Jenova cells which Sephiroth took control of for the Reunion," Cloud explained. "I'm the reason Meteor's falling on us... that's why I'm gonna stop it."

"It's not like you're going to do it on your own, you know," Tifa commented.

"Yeah, you just us," Omen grinned and winked slightly suggestively, to which Cloud cringed at.

"Omen no matter what you'll continue to disturb me," He said. Omen laughed at his own expense as did everyone else.

"Well you can't keep everyone happy," Omen put his hands on his hips and smiled, clearly brightened up sufficiently more. "So where's the next stop?"

"Well they're plannin' to crash straight into Meteor with the Huge Materia," Cid explained, pointing at a map on the table, with 'X's over Nibelheim, Fort Condor and Corel. "They already got of those things..."

"Eh guys?" Cait Sith hopped up onto the table. "I've jist got news that there's a Huge Materia bein' extracted in the Underwater Reactor in Junon by the Turks... and the one from Nibelheim is in Rocket Town." Omen and Cid looked at each other, knowing exactly what was going on.

"Those bastards are gonna use the rocket to crash into the damn thing!" Cid exclaimed. "Cait when? We got time to stop them?"

"Well... regardless of whether of no they get the Huge Materia from Junon... it'll set off today," Cait explained. Oh that... isn't good.

"Right, here's the plan," I immediantly grabbed the pen by the map and started scribbling. "Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Angie and myself will intercept Junon and retrieve the Huge Materia."

"Why them?" Yuffie whined.

"First few names that popped into my head," I shrugged, not looking up. "Besides most of them have been missing out," I scribbled an X over Junon, then circled Rocket Town. "Cid, Omen, you two know the Rocket and its works better than anyone here, you two go and stop the Rocket from taking off. The rest of you will cause havoc in Junon to lighten up the security. Any questions?" I looked up, dropping the pen on the table.

"Taking the leader role seriously?" Cloud asked with a smirk.

"Eh, you were always an unofficial leader anyway." I walked out of the conference room, seeing Angie leaning against the wall, holding something. "Yo Angie?" She looked up and smiled a little.

"Present," She handed me very familiar, heavy weapons. Well heavy when I first wielded them. I looked at her in confusion then smiled, taking the weapons from her.

"No way! How did you find them?" I asked, putting them on my arms, dropping a little since I had forgotten the weight of them. "Seriously though, I thought my Dual Hounds were back on Spira?"

"It wasn't me who found them," She handed me a small note, then walked off to the bridge. "If the Turks are there, you might just be lucky." As she walked off I gave a look of annoyance towards her, then read the note.

_I know they're your favourites_

_But remember your true blades as well_

Fina. Definately her who gave me them.

* * *

We had a bit of trouble actually getting down to the Reactor. It was heavily guarded and right deep down in the ocean. It was so long since we had went down into the Reactors, at least we weren't blowing them up now.

"I hope everyone's alright," Tifa mumbled as we walked through the halls.

"We've gotten this far, you think they'd stop now?" I asked her. "They'll be fine, those guys are strong... although I kind wish we gave them more back up, you know throw the happy couple back there into the fray." I turned to Angie, smiling at the blush on her face that Vincent didn't seem to notice. Oh the naive sod...

"Shut up Christie," Angie whined. I merely chuckled at her embarrassment.

"Well you two are always so cheerful," I joked. Vincent looked at me with a hint of confusion, as though he didn't get the joke. "It's okay Vincent, I'm just joking at your expense."

"... I see," He replied before talking quieter to Angie, I wish I could lip read because I had a feeling she was joking at my expense.

We went deeper into the Reactor, reaching a familiar area in which we used to set bombs onto. Gritting my teeth we watched a yellow Materia be extracted from the core.

"We're too late," Cloud groaned. We looked to the runway and followed the path, hoping it would lead us to the Huge Materia. It lead us to the bay area where there were two submarines, the Materia being dropped into the red one. Reno was standing with his back to us, so we all readied our weapons, pushing Angie when she nudged me suggestively.

"Piss off," I hissed before whistling, catching Reno's attention. Unfazed by the weapons pointed at him, he smirked and folded his arms.

"Hey there guys," He said. "Damn, wish we could catch up, we haven't seen each other in so long, huh?"

"Just give us the Materia Reno," Cloud ordered.

"Damn, ya see, I'd love to but..." He pressed a button and a massive machine stomped up behind him. "I'm busy. Maybe we'll catch up some other time?" He waved then ran off away to the red submarine.

"Feck you!" I yelled, charging my Magnetism to pull down the machine, leaping over it and chasing after Reno into the red submarine.

* * *

_Angie's POV_

"Christie wait!" I called out, ducking underneath an arm that nearly dropped down on me. She probably couldn't hear me as she was already in the submarine and it was getting away. "Dammit, we have to stop them."

"We'll take the other one!" Cloud ran towards it, whacking a soldier into the water with his sword. Once we got inside, Cloud ran to the control room and the rest of us cleared the submarine of any soldiers as it begun to move.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," I mumbled, rubbing my arm and looking out in the ocean. There was a crater nearby where I'm guessing that Weapon crashed after being blown up by the Mako Cannon. I knew Vincent was behind me, which made me fidget. Ahh... stupid feelings. "How are we going to get that Materia?"

"Christie... she's strong, she'll probably get it," Vincent stated. "She has powers like Fina..."

"I know... I was surprised too... the first time I saw her powers..." I muttered, looking blankly at the ocean outside. "She's a strong one, she won't go down easy. Even from Death she'll come back with a vengeance." I smiled a little, knowing the fact was completely true.

The red submarine came into view, doing it's best to escape us. We followed it and I could see torpedoes being launched at it, missing barely. I pressed my forehead against the glass, holding my breath.

"Come on Christie... get out of there..." I muttered, repeating those words over and over to myself, biting my lip.

When several of our torpedoes hit the red submarine, I cred out in horror as it sunk down to the depths of the ocean.

"No!" I cried, feeling tears in my eyes. Vincent put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently, just like he did when I was younger.

"She'll be fine, you said she's strong," He said. I nodded slowly and walked into the control room, where Cloud and Tifa were in. Cloud's co-ordinates were to go back to Junon.

"Christie's still in there..." I mumbled to Cloud. He nodded silently, focusing on driving the submarine.

"She'll be fine," He said, pretty much repeating Vincent's words. "It's dark, we'll rest up and tomorrow we'll get her." Suddenly we faintly heard a splash from above us, so we rose to the top. We opened the hatch and climbed out of the submarine, seeing a giant pod floating in the ocean. The door opened and we hovered our hands over our weapons just in case it was Shinra. When the hatch opened we could hear people squabbling.

"Hey can't you just say sorry and get this over with?" Omen pushed the hatch of the pod open and took a breath of fresh air.

"Kid you stay outta things that ain't your business!" Cid replied with agitation.

"Be a man Cid!" Omen then shrieked and ducked under a backhand from the airship pilot.

"Your one to talk!"

"Hey guys!" Tifa called to them, Omen stood up and smiled, waving back.

"Hey! You guys get yours?" He disappeared into the pod, emerging again with a blue Huge Materia. We kept silent at his question, then he realised Christie wasn't with us. "Sorry... but she's okay if that's any help."

"It's fine... come on swim over and we'll go back to Junon."


	69. Midnight Sky

Midnight Sky

"Those guys will blow the whole town out launching that Rocket!" I yelled at Cid when we ran into the town, everyone gazing up at the Rocket. "Oh by Alice Marie how stupid can people be!?"

"Omen will ya shut up and get everyone outta here?" Cid bluntly asked. "I'll get those bastards away from the Rocket." We split and I ran to the crowd, screaming out at the top of my lungs.

"The Rocket's gonna blow! If you don't get out the way you'll all burn to a crisp! Go on get out!" The crowds turned to me and I kept yelling. "Unless you're suicidal get out of town now!" Soon enough the residents realised who I was and I knew what I was talking about and quickly got away. I looked around, not seeing Shera anywhere in the crowds. "Oh no..."

I ran into the house quickly, yelling out Shera's name and frantically searching the house, looking through the rooms and the back garden. Groaning I covered my face with my hands. Damn I hope Shera was out of town...

"Dammit!" I yelled, running into my room and pulling out a box from underneath my bed. Inside it was a cloth, my initials on it in purple embroidery. I unfolded the cloth and took out the brooch inside it. Made of pewter it was a circle with a cross with a dark blue gem in the middle of it. I put it on my trench coat and but my hankercheif into my pocket before running out of the house.

Shinra troops were patrolling the area near the Rocket. Well they were but Cid had knocked them out. I hurriedly clambered up into the Rocket and shut the door tightly, running to the control room.

"Cid! Shera isn't in town!" I exclaimed, opening the door, finding Cid at the control panel. He was quiet, focusing on overriding the system and taking control of the Rocket. Slowly I stepped forward and looked at the panel. It was nothing like the controls of the Tiny Bronco or the Highwind.

Cid just remained silent, then we both jumped a bit as static came through. Cid let the contact through, a look of anger crossing his face.

"_Cid? What are you doing on the Rocket?"_ The voice belonged to Palmer, which also made me frown. I really didn't like him...

"This is my ship you fucking shitfaced bastard!" Cid yelled back at him, making me flinch. "Shut down the damn thing now!"

"_Sorry, we've put it on autopilot and locked it," _Palmer laughed and I gritted my teeth. That bastard... _"And you're about to launch."_

"What without a countdown?" Cid exclaimed, rubbing his temples in frustration. The next thing we knew was that the Rocket was fired so I gripped onto the side of the room tightly, squeezing my eyes shut and crying out in panic.

"Cid what's gonna happen!?" I cried out. It seemed like it lasted forever until eventually the pressure lowered. I dropped to my knees and breathed heavily. "Oh Alice Maire, oh Alice Marie..."

"Kid stop panicking for two minutes!" Cid ordered me. I nodded, standing up straight and looking out the window, gaping a little. "Kid it's really... it's really space..."

"Yeah..." I nodded, looking at Meteor. "Shame it won't last..." Cid then looked at Meteor too, then at me. "Captain?"

"Kid you forget about that escape pod we fixed up before Red came?" He asked. I looked up in thought before it clicked.

"Oh yeah!" I nodded. Cid gave me and nod and opened the door. "Wait, what about the Huge Materia?" Sighing, Cid turned to me. "C'mon you know that's what we're here for."

"Fine, you look for that and I'll fix up the escape pod."

* * *

I climbed up into a room, cursing to myself as I tired to use the correct passcode to open the containment chamber where the blue Huge Materia was. Groaning I kept punching in random codes.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon," I gritted my teeth again, before I could punch in another code I heard an explosion and Cid cursing like no tomorrow. I quickly stood and froze the container then punched it, grabbing the Huge Materia and practically jumped down the ladder, bursting through the halls down to the oxygen tank room.

"About fucking time you got here!" Cid yelled, underneath some debris from... Oxygen Tank Eight...

"Omen, help me move this," Shera asked. I nodded and took hold of the metal, lifting it up along with Shera enough so Cid could wriggle out from underneath it. The Captain got up and kept his tongue held, I had a feeling he'd start swearing if he didn't. "I've been checking up on the escape pod until now, we should be arlight going home." I helped Cid walk to the escape pod as Shera went ahead. His leg was hurt and I wasn't risking healing it until we were safe.

"It was Tank Eight... she was right this whole time..." Cid mumbled. "And all this time I've been treating her like a piece of shit."

"Well it's never too late to apologise," I told him. Then looked at him grinning. "Or are you too manly apologise?"

"Shut up, Kid," Shera helped me get Cid into the escape pod. I sat down beside Shera, setting the Huge Materia down on my lap. Shera started up the pod which detatched from the Rocket, blasting down back to Gaia. I crouched down and healed Cid's leg.

"How long will it take to get back?" I turned to Shera as Cid got so engrossed with the fact that his dream was fulfilled.

"Hopefully just a few hours, this isn't as fast as the Rocket," She replied, then turned to Cid. "You've finally done it, Captain."

"I can't fucking believe it..." Cid continued to look out the window and at the stars. "Took too long, but we finally did it," He sat down and leaned back in his seat. "Kid, you okay?"

"Huh?" I looked at Cid with confusion.

"You look as if your gonna cry again," He stated, pointing to my face. I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes, then put my glasses on again. "Kid, I don't why Red told ya Ghost was dead, but you're gonna find her."

"... You think so?" I asked him quietly.

"Hey, what did I say before?" Cid leaned forward and put his hand on my shoulder. "You don't give up on what you want. I wanted to get here and damn I got here didn't I?" I nodded at Cid, giving him a smile.

"Yeah," I then looked out to space, watching as stars floated past. I could see the Rocket get closer to Meteor as we gained distance from it. After a while the rocket crashed into Meteor. I looked down at the Huge Materia and traced my finger over it. "You think it would have worked? If we let Shinra have the Huge Materia? You think Meteor would be destroyed?"

"Hmph, fuck knows," Cid shrugged. "Guess we'll never know now."

"By the way, I think there's something you should say to Shera," I grinned, making Cid groan.

* * *

After crash landing into what was clearly the ocean, our arguement continued quite promptly as I tried to push open the hatch.

"Hey can't you just say sorry and get this overwith?" I then pushed open the hatch and stepped up, breathing in some fresh air. Oh how a missed it!

"Kid you stay outta things that ain't your business!" Cid yelled at me, really mad at me because he just wouldn't apologise.

"Be a man Cid!" I then gave a girly shriek and ducked under one of Cid's infamous backhands.

"Your one to talk!"

"Hey guys!" We immediantly stopped and turned to where Tifa's voice came from. She, Cloud, Angie and Vincent were on a submarine staring at us. Giving them a smile, I waved back.

"Hey! You guys get yours?" I quickly jumped down and grabbed the Huge Materia. When I popped back up and displayed it to them, they didn't respond. That's when I realised Christie wasn't there. Sure I could sense her... underwater but alive. "Sorry... but she's okay if that's any help."

"It's fine... come on swim over and we'll go back to Junon."


	70. Duty Before Emotion

Duty Before Emotion

Once the torpedo hit the submarine sirens went off and the place began filling with water rapidly and causing us to sink down deeper. Wading through the water I pushed open a door, emptying the room of water but filling up the next. Inside was the Huge Materia in a container of glass. I took a dep breath and dove down to try and break open the container with my fists.

I shook slightly when I felt someone grab my wrist and pull me up to the shrinking air pocket. It was Reno.

"We gotta get outta here!" He yelled at me. "Just leave the damn thing!"

"So you and your mates can have it?" I snarled, preparing to dive back down before he pulled on my arm.

"Are you insane? You'll drown!" He exclaimed. I pulled my arm away from him and glared.

"Like Hell I will!" With that Reno groaned in defeat.

"Fine, I think my life is more important than some Magick rock!" With that we both dived back down. Me to the Materia and Reno to find a way out.

I kept banging on the glass before going for a more aggressive method. Charging my Dual Hound and smashing the glass, feeling a few bits float and give small cuts. I got more cuts on my hand as I grabbed the Huge Materia and swam back up for another breath of air, diving down again and ripping open a hole with my Magnetism.

Quickly swimming I was glad being a Blitzball player way back when payed off. I swam up from the pressured depths. However a sudden pang hit me and I looked down, spying Reno struggling to cope with the high pressure.

Not sure what was coming over me, I dove back down and outstretched my free hand, urging him to grab it. Without hesitation he did and I helped him swim to the surface, but I was going slower than normal.

I knew what the problem was. Too much weight. I looked at the Huge Materia, then down at Reno, who was slowly losing consciousness. My honour as a hero got in the way and I instinctively dropped the Materia, pulling up Reno and swimming as fast as I could to the surface.

* * *

Gasping for air I made sure Reno's head was above water, swimming weakly to the island shore. Coughing up water I dragged the knocked out Turk to the land, putting him on his back and searching for a pulse. There was only a weak one and I had a feeling he wasn't going to last too long.

Without a second thought I began performing CPR, hoping he wouldn't die like Fina did I kept checking for a stronger pulse or to hear him breathe, possibly coughing up water if he had swallowed any.

"C'mon you idiot!" I groaned, pressing more on his chest to get his heart going again. I then realised I'd have to do more. Breathing in deeply I separated his lips and breathed into his mouth. I checked his wrist and felt his pulse returning. I breathed into his mouth again. They were actually quite nice-

Shut up Christie, just focus on resussitating him.

I felt his muscles spasm as I pulled back. Reno began to cough up water, shooting up and spluttering loudly, hitting his chest before coughing up more water. He cursed a little between coughs and gasped, wiping his mouth and breathing in heavily.

"Damn never again..." He grumbled, he caught me in the corner of his eye as I wrung out my hair. "Guess you thought my life was more important than a Magick rock too then huh?" He asked, his tone was flirty and it made me growl.

"Please, I was returning a favour," I scoffed, flipping my hair back round and glaring at him. Just like Omen he wasn't at all affected by it.

"Oh yeah, when I was your saviour back in Wutai," He grinned putting his finger under my chin. I groaned and batted his hand away. He was so annoying. "Well thanks anyway, guessing you want a reward?"

"Piss off!" I exclaimed, pulling away when he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Aw Chris why you trying to get away?" He asked teasingly, getting closer to me. "Bet you'd swim back to Junon if you could."

"Trust me, the idea's tempting," I growled defensively. Reno grinned at me and got closer.

"Well too bad, for tonight, maybe for a few, we're stuck here. Alone. Together," He grinned suggestively, causing me to push him away from me.

"You're a creep!" I exclaimed. "Like I'd ever do anything with you, you're just a stupid Turk!"

"Hey don't bring my job into this," He remarked, growing serious. "Least I ain't as shallow as you. I mean you just see what's on top, you don't have any right to say stuff like that."

"Oh really?" I put my hands on my hips and leaned forward a bit. "You don't have any right to call me shallow."

"You're giving that impression," Reno crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes defiantly at me. "You like this to every red head you know?" I scoffed at him, turning away. "Damn you treat friend and foe the same don't you?"

"I do not!" I screeched, clenching my fists.

"You know, I bet your actually nice underneath that armour," Reno grinned, putting his hands on my shoulders and whispering into my ear. "Really _really_ nice," I turned to him and glared. Why was he flirting with me? "C'mon ain't you cold with all those wet clothes?" What? Okay this guy was going a bit too far.

"Well I can say the same for you," I froze up at my remark. That was _not_ what I was going to say. I lowered my head but heard Reno chuckle a bit, his hands still on my shoulders.

"Well if you really want me to," He whispered. I collected myself and pushed him off me. "Hey you got a double personality or something?"

"No! I shouldn't be doing this with you!" I exclaimed. "You're the enemy! We should be fighting not flirting!" Reno then shrugged at me, waving off my comment.

"Well if that was the case, you wouldn't hold back when you're fighting me," He commented. It was true. No matter when or where I always used my fists and not my blades. I shook my head and groaned loudly.

"No! I can't! It's duty before emotion!" I screamed to myself. "No, you're an enemy! I can't!"

"Can't what?" Reno asked me, walking closer to me. I backed off, not wanting to be near him. I kept recalling what Angie and Omen teased me about. I couldn't... I didn't...

"Just... shut up you stupid Turk," He just shook his head.

"Look at me," I didn't. He then gripped my shoulders. "Chris look at me."

"Stop calling me Chris!" I shouted. "You're not my friend so why don't you stop-" I was cut off by Reno suddenly pressing his lips against mine roughly for a few seconds. When he pulled away I glared at him and felt angrier with him for doing that. "What the fuck was-" He kissed me again, keeping me quiet for another few long seconds. When he pulled away I felt less angry when he I looked at him. "Honestly you-" He kissed me again for longer again, this time I really noticed the salty taste on his lips as he held his lips against mine for the longest time. When he pulled away he looked at me with a sort of softness in his blue-ish grey eyes. I kept silent, feeling a bit numb and shocked at what had just happened. He smiled a sort of cheeky smile at me.

"I'm what?" He said teasingly. I remained quiet for a moment then shrugged, looking away when I felt a warm tingling on my cheeks.

"Uhh... you're a... a really... good kisser..." I mumbled incoherently. Reno grinned and lowered his head down to look at me.

"What was that?" He asked, grinning when he saw my blush. "That's cute." I narrowed my eyes and pushed him away.

"How about I punch you in the stomach and see how adorable that is?" I asked defensively, still blushing. Reno kept quiet, but a smile curled on his lip and he began to snicker, followed by a laugh. Without warning I felt my own lips curl up and I giggled, the first time I had in years. We laughed for a good while, and I tried to stop even when I felt my sides hurting.

"Didn't know you could still laugh," Reno panted, catching his breath and sitting down on the grass of the small island. I breathed heavily and sat on the grass beside him.

"Seriously though, what was that about?" I asked seriously. Reno didn't look at me, just out at the water.

"Find you attractive," He answered. I raised my eyebrow, shocked at that confession. Honestly I didn't really think he'd see me as his type.

"Being honest?" I asked, looking out to the water.

"Yeah," He nodded. "But as you said, duty before emotion," He scoffed at my theory, leaning forward a little. "Well, if you like them then you should try, no matter what, right?"

"It'll be difficult," I mumbled. "You never love someone on the other side... never..."

"Let me guess," Reno lay on his back, hands behind his head. "Got hurt by someone when you did that?" I shook my head.

"No, but I've seen it happen to others," I told him, remembering about Tidus and Yuna. Sure Tidus was on our side, but he was the son of the enemy and the situation was still kind of the same. I lay on my side, looking at him. The moonlight hit his face and gave it a sort of glow that glistened in his eyes and lit up his face. When I thought about it I couldn't help blushing, which made him grin.

"Why you blushing?" He tapped my nose and I groaned, rubbing my nose once his hand was pulled back.

"Shut up," He chuckled and put his arm around me, pulling my down onto his chest. I struggled a little, but not at my full strength. Realising he wouldn't let go I sighed, leaning against him.

"So... where did you come from?" I looked up at him, sighing as I put my head on his damp chest.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..."

"Try me." Sighing, I wondered if he'd tell Shinra what I'd say. I looked up at the sky.

"I'm from another world. Another time," I began, noting the disbelief from him...

* * *

"So, not only are you from another world, you're a renowned hero there?" Reno asked me once I finished. It was really dark, probably past midnight now. I nodded in response. "Now you're in Avalanche, the terrorist group... talk about a drop."

"We're more heroic than Shinra," I scoffed, rolling off his chest and lying beside him. "We'll stop Sephiroth. We're closer to it than Shinra I think."

"So you know how to get past the barrier?" Reno questioned, his eyebrow raised. I shook my head. "Well we're on the same page..." Sighing I looked at Reno, who was looking back at me. I studied his face as best I could with the moon as my only source of light. He looked tired, but interested. "Were you ever scared?" It took a moment to click in my head what he meant.

"To be honest... kind of, but not so much it paralyzed me," I answered. "Sure I was scared the first time, and I did get into near death situations... but the fear pushed me to go on, the fear made sure I'd live... I think."

"... I was terrified when the Weapons rose up," Reno admitted. "They were stronger... as though the longer they stayed in the Planet the more strength they gained."

"Were? This has happened?" The red head gave me a nod, yawning before going into details.

"Yeah, the Jade Weapon... wasn't that long ago actually," He scratched his cheek and yawned again. "There were a lot of Turks before, then it narrowed down to five of us. Elena's sister was a Turk, Linda," I nodded, yawning myself. "She... died when we fought the Jade Weapon. That Nevina helped us... well she helped Marissa."

"Marissa?" I asked. Why would Nevina help a Turk? She hates them.

"Yeah, really skilled Turk, she was Nevina's best friend," Reno turned onto his side, propping himself up with his arm. "She was a professional, as though she'd been doing this kind of stuff the moment she was born... she lived in Kalm with Nevina, but after she became a Turk... a wedge formed between them."

"What happened? Did she tell you?"

"Yeah, it's pretty much the reason why Shinra wants Nevina," Reno told me casually, yawning as he did so. "There was this Soldier, gone from the Shinra records now, that Nevina loved. He went rogue, so we were sent to kidnap her to both detain this guy and get information out of her. For a Kalm girl she sure was hard to catch," He stretched for a moment then went on. "Anyway, to hopefully get her captured, Cissnei and Marissa had to go arrest her father, but he resisted and the orders were to kill if he resisted arrest. Nevina... she was standing right behind them when Marissa pulled the trigger." I felt cold at that. Nevina's best friend... killed her father? And I thought me and Angie were bad.

"So what happened after the Jade Weapon?" I asked, moving a bit closer to him.

"Most went into hiding, only me, Tseng, Rude and Cissnei stayed with Shinra... and you know how Elena joined," I slowly remembered that Reno had... destroyed Sector 7. He pressed the button and let the Plate drop. He realised I was remembering this and groaned. "I'm sorry..."

"You killed all those people."

"It was orders, they would have killed us if we didn't follow them!" He exclaimed, yet too tired to be mad. "Look, being in the Turks isn't... as easy as you may think... we're not bad guys... well I'm not."

"You still work for them."

"Yeah... I know that..." He nodded, sighing. "I also know that I'm in too deep to even_ try_ to atone for what I've done." He ran his hand through his dry red hair, crisp from the cold air and salt water. "I mean, I'd like to more than anything but I don't think I'll ever get the chance, you know? Aren't you the same?" I looked at him, slightly surprised he'd draw comparisons. "You've killed countless people, brought down people's belief systems, destroyed cities... the proclaimed heroes aren't too pure either." I sighed, realising his point. Guess I wasn't much of a hero that I thought I was.

"Still, you don't have to be pure to be a hero," I muttered, looking up at the inky black sky again. "Flaws are what make a person, it creates their character. No hero can do good without doing something wrong... no good deed goes unpunished."

"You're right," Reno nodded, his arm around me again. "So... ya think we'll ever be found?"

"Yeah, my friends will be looking for me, can't say anything about Shinra though," I shrugged, leaning against him. If I was more awake I wouldn't be doing this, but for now I didn't care. "I mean you could be proclaimed dead."

"I let off a distress signal before it sankl, I'm sure they'll find me."

"And if not?"

"Then I'll just have to be your hostage," Reno winked at me tiredly. I was too tired to be confused right now. Instead I yawned and closed my eyes. "Hey," I looked at him, annoyed that he wouldn't let me go to sleep. Before I could respond he gave me a kiss, the fourth one since we got stuck here. But it was the first one in which I kissed him back. Grinning as he broke it, I bit my lip. "Guess you _do_ like me." Groaning I looked down, closing my eyes again. I would have groaned 'shut up' or something, but fell asleep before that was possible.

* * *

The next morning I woke up with my head still on Reno's chest. Still on the fucking island. I sat up and stretched my arms, looking up at the sun, seeing it to be roughly noon-ish. I looked down at Reno, who still slept. He looked cute actually, it made me smile a little.

I shook my head, standing and mumbling to myself. It didn't matter if he was cute, he was the enemy, he worked for Shinra, and I had to stop Sephiroth and Shinra. Duty before emotion, that's what I've stuck by this whole time.

My head was in my hands, I felt so confused about this. I liked Reno, yes I admit it, I liked the red head something about him made me attracted to him! I couldn't, it wasn't right it shouldn't be. I can't like him. Yet I do. I do and I want to keep liking him even though it's wrong.

"You think a lot," I looked at Reno, who had suddenly appeared beside me. "You know, I normally don't like sleeping on the ground but that was really enjoyable." I sighed, looking away from him as I placed my hands on my hips.

"Not as enjoyable as you had hoped though," I commented, making him chuckle.

"Yeah, if only I could have scored with you," He smiled suggestively at me, so I pushed him away.

"Piss off," I said rather jokingly, not offended by his remark or his actions.

"Okay grumpy," He said, the smile not going. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then he gave me a small tap on the nose. "For a girl who's violent and half blind you sure are cute." I glared at him and huffed.

"Am not!" I yelled before he tried to pull me into a hug. He was chuckling as I struggled against him. "Get off me! You're worse than Omen!" I cried out, struggling harder. After another few moments he stopped, letting go as we spotted a submarine rise up from the water, as well as said annoying albino's voice being strangely loud.

"No I wanna see! I wanna know!" He opened the hatch and his upper half revealed itself as he stared at us with a look of amazement on his face. "Tifa! He's alive! I knew she wouldn't kill him!" Both of us raised our eyebrows. Had he made a bet?

"You being honest?" Angie squeezed up beside Omen, staring at the supposed amazing sight. "Wow," She then smiled and raised her voice a bit. "Keep your self control Christie?"

"Shut it!" I yelled, making them laugh. Was I not scary when I was angry or did they really just know I was kidding?

"So, what are your travel arrangements?" Omen asked Reno, grinning. "Or can we just take you too?"

"Well I don't know, Omen, if you want to keep him Christie won't be happy," Angie smiled, leaning on the edge of the hatch. I growled at Angie, ready to send a weak Aura blast at her.

"If you're offering I won't say no," Reno shrugged casually. "Will I have to be thrown into a room and declared prisoner?"

"We're not pirates," Omen shrugged. "Well unless Christie gets that eyepatch Angie was telling me about."

"And we have 'Captain' Cid," Angie added.

"I'm not getting an eyepatch!" I yelled at them before Reno nudged me.

"Why not? You'd suit it," I glared at him, then back at my two teasing and irritating friends.

"Can we go?" I whined, to which Angie shook her head.

"You know the basic rules of heroism," She stated, pulling hair back from her face. "We are to help all those who need it. Reno here would be strandred alone on an island for who knows how long, so it is our duty to help him get to safety," ... She's doing this on purpose... she looked at Reno and smiled. "So what would you like?"

"Well I think I'll go back to Junon as soon as," The red head folded his hands over his chest. Angie nodded and tossed over to me a pair of handcuffs.

"He's a prisoner, he may need saving but since works for Shinra we're bending the rules," She explained, but at the end Omen added a wink to me and grinned that usual grin when he was plotting something or ready to tease. The total feck.

I put Reno's hands behind his back and handcuffed him, grabbing the collar of his suit jacket and pushed him forwards, walking him to the submarine.

"Hm I always thought of you as liking it rough," He grinned. It was scary how both he and Omen had a similar way of being perverted teasing prats.

"Shut it you..." Again, laughing from Reno, Omen and Angie.


	71. Lucrecia

Lucrecia

Sitting in the submarine we drove slowly back to Junon, where everyone was waiting in the Highwind. Omen was holding onto the Huge Materia we extracted from the wrecked Shinra submarine while Christie was in the back with Reno. Hopefully they were keeping it clean back there, but it truly wasn't my business. I was sitting quietly beside Vincent, waiting as Cloud drove us back, Tifa by his side.

I looked at Vincent, who was staring down, his black hair draped across his face. Shyly I raised my hand and brushed it away, making him look at me. I faught the compulsion to blush and turn away apologising.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly. His red eyes didn't look at me, just down at the floor.

"It's nothing," He told me, looking away again. Frowning I looked down as well. There was a bump suddenly and Cloud hissed, setting the navigation.

"This isn't right... we've went the wrong way..." He mumbled to us. I stood up and looked out of the window. We were in some sort tunnel, and there was no water surface anywhere.

"Wait a moment," Omen suddenly said, closing his eyes as Christie entered the room, eyebrow raised. "... Someone's here, keep going." Confused, Cloud did oblige and I looked at Christie.

"Tell your boyfriend we're taking a detour," I smiled, which made Christie glare at me.

"Fuck you Angie."

* * *

Omen pushed open the hatch, a common job for him now, and stepped out of the submarine. I followed him as did everyone else apart from Christie and Reno. We had arrived in a crater in a mountain, a waterfall gushing down into the water in which we came from. The Phantom walked behind the waterfall, gasping a little, but it echoed which was odd.

"Guys! You gotta see this!" The four of us ran behind the water into a dark cave, lit up by the glow of crystalised Lifestream, a large crystal pillar in the middle, but the cave extended back quite a bit, pools or water in each of them. The crystals around the entrance were blue, yet the pillar was soft yellow and white. I squinted, seeing a figure inside the crystal...

"_Vincent...?" _I froze at the voice, knowing who it belonged to but shocked at the fact that I was hearing it again. Vincent also froze, but not in horror as I was.

"That... that can't be..." He walked forward, squinting his eyes at the pillar. He knew who it was... so did I... "Lucrecia?" I felt my fists tighten in disdain for the woman and her voice.

"_Vincent?"_ Lucrecia's voice echoed quietly in the cave. I closed my eyes and squeezed my fists tighter.

"Lucrecia!" Vincent ran towards her pillar, I could hear him running through the water.

"_Stay back!"_ She yelled, I looked up and Vincent froze in his place, in waist deep water. I turned to Omen, who was staring at the crystal pillar. Feeling my eyes upon him Omen nodded and took himself, Tifa and Cloud out of the cave, leaving Vincent and myself alone.

I looked quietly at Vincent as he backed out of the water and sat at the edge, not taking his eyes off Lucrecia. It made me a little mad to see that but I held in my anger, unclenching my fists and walking calmly next to him. I looked at Lucrecia, trying my hardest not to let my hatred show.

"All I did was watch..." Vincent muttered. I crouched down and sat beside him, sighing. "I couldn't... I couldn't stop her." I sighed, looking up.

"She chose to do that, you had no part in it," I told him. I felt his eyes on me as I spoke.

"If I did I could have stopped her," He replied. I turned to him and stared him in the eyes. Those red eyes were so beautiful...

"Vincent, Lucrecia, Hojo, Gast and Fina made their choices," I tried to speak reasonably and calmly, not wanting to upset him. "They wanted to do that to their own children... their children... it wasn't yours..." He looked away from me, so I moved closer to him. "Vincent... you know I didn't want it either, not even Fina would listen to me. Oblivion would have stopped it if he knew. They wouldn't listen to someone unless they were part of it..." Vincent kept silent, which hurt me a little. "I know it's not what you want to hear..."

"There should have been a way to stop them... I couldn't..." I bit my lip, looking down at the water.

"You confronted Hojo about it... I know... I saw..." I frowned, feeling pain at the memory... when I thought Vincent had died...

* * *

_I looked around the lab, trying to find the book Aunt Fina asked me to get. All I could find was beakers and weird liquids of all different colours. Some were fizzing and some glowed which was really pretty. On Fina's desk I saw that pretty Materia she's been looking at for ages. Around her desk were lots of old books and pens everywhere._

"_Uhh... ohhh what was it...?" I asked myself, looking at my hand in thought. I looked up at the shelf in front of me and smiled to myself. "There!" I pulled out the book and held it close to me. I heard the door slam open, Hojo's usual mumbles following. "Uh-oh." He didn't like me down here, I wasn't allowed unless Fina was here. He didn't like Uncle Oblivion here either but he was always defiant and did it for fun._

_I hid behind a bookshelf, Hojo in plain sight in front of me. He was a scary man I didn't like him, he was always mean to me no matter what Aunt Fina said. I kept quiet, I was scared I wanted to get out before he saw me._

"_Hojo!" I gasped a little when I heard Vincent being so angry. He was a nice man. Him and Hojo were totally different. I liked being looked after by Vincent, he was a nice man. He stormed up yo Hojo, he was really really angry and he grabbed Hojo by the collar of his shirt. "Talk! Why did you let this happen!?" Hojo pushed Vincent off and he walked back a few steps. I was getting scared Vincent looked like he'd kill Hojo. Were they talking about Lucrecia? She had been crying a lot lately._

"_Silence!" Hojo yelled. Vincent's fists tightened and he stepped forward. I curled up, but I couldn't look away._

"_You..." He growled. The next thing I could see was Hojo holding a gun..._

"_Silence!" He lifted up the gun and fired..._

_I screamed as Vincent fell to the ground. I ran towards him and began crying, seeing red blood drip out. What happened? What was happening?_

"_What are you doing down here!?" I screamed and threw the book at Hojo as he tried to grab me. I ran out of the room and into the closest open room available. That creepy room with the coffins inside it. "Girl get out here this instant!" I locked the door and cried as he banged on it._

"_Go away! Go away! I hate you!" I cried out. I roughly rubbed my eyes, crying lots and lots. I was scared he would use that gun again, so I backed away from the door. He banged harder and louder making me cry more. "Go away!"_

_I froze when I began to hear heavy breathing behind me. Turning around I whimpered as a huge monster towered above me, with two heads and torsos and two legs and arms. Its faces grinned at me as it came closer to me and I cried more. I could hear a knocking on the door now too. Hojo wasn't banging anymore._

"_Angie? Sweetheart it's Fina," I cried more as the monster came closer. I wanted to run but I scared it would attack me. I felt my hands grow warmed as I cried, but I couldn't look away from the monster. "Angie? Angie sweetie can you open the door?"_

"_Fina help me..." I cried, whimpering. Fina started banging on the door and when she did the monster leapt at me. I raised my hands to protect myself. The monster suddenly reeled back, covered in fire, which made me cry even more. I ran out the room, unlocking the door and running into Fina's arms._

"_Angie are you okay?" I cried as Fina hugged me, trying to hush my hysterics. "Angie it's okay, it's okay. Hojo lock that damn door! Now!" I could hear it being shut and locked. I just kept crying. I looked up at Hojo. He didn't have the gun. He stared down at me with utter comtempt._

"_You..." I cried. I felt so mad at him... Fina hugged me closer before taking me back upstairs. I kept looking at Hojo, narrowing my eyes at him as I kept crying._

_He killed Vincent... I kept hearing those words loop again and again in my head. Each time made me cry even more._

* * *

"You saw all that?" Vincent mumbled. I nodded sadly, wiping my eyes. I could feel myself crying the whole time I told him. I looked at him and he looked back at me. I moved closer to him, staring into his eyes.

"Vincent... I pushed that memory so far back in my mind because it tore me apart to see..." I looked away, choking a little. "Vincent, they're all the dead... Oblivion can't be near me... I don't want to see you die again..." I cried a little, doing my best to compose myself. "I can't ever forgive myself for that night... I couldn't do anything to stop it because I was scared... there are so many things I can't forgive myself for..." I could feel his glove on the back of my head and pull me gently towards him. Like how he did when I was younger. I cried and hugged him tightly. He was hugging back awkwardly as I tried to pull myself together.

"Angevale..." He trailed off. He was feeling awkward so I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled, wiping my eyes more. "What... I'm trying to say is... it happened and can't unhappen..." I didn't know what to say to him. I could talk to him for ages about anything... I suppose my social skills withered a little as I got older.

Suddenly Vincent pulled me towards him again, holding me close to him. I hugged back, closing my eyes and moving myself closer to him. I looked at the pillar with Lucrecia inside and glared before closing my eyes again, wanting to forget she was there... I just wanted to believe that it was only me and Vincent there.

I opened my eyes suddenly as my PHS started to ring. I pulled away from Vincent and took it out, standing and walking out to the mouth of the cave.

"Hi Omen," I spoke quietly, looking over at Vincent, who stared at Lucrecia. I simply glared.

"_Hey Angie, listen we've dropped Chris' boyfriend off at Junon," _I could hear Christie shout something which made me smile. _"Anyway, we decided to drop off the Huge Materia at Buganhagen's, you and Vincent cool to camp out there tomorrow? We're heading back to the Forgotten City tomorrow." _I nodded in response, looking up at the dimming sky.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," I said, hanging up and walking back to Vincent, sitting beside him. "... We're staying here for tonight. They'll get us in the morning." Vincent nodded slowly. I sighed, looking at Lucrecia. "You know what? I'm going to sleep." I lay on the ground and closed my eyes. I knew it was early in the day, not even totally dark yet, but I was intent on sleeping and not seeing that woman for the rest of the day.

* * *

That evening I woke up when I heard my PHS go off again. Rubbing my eyes I took it out and began to mumble. Not bothering to check the ID.

"Who?" I groaned tiredly.

"_Christie," _Why she is phoning at this hour? _"Just figured I'd phone."_

"Yes Christie I miss talking to you at unearthly hours too," I groaned, getting up and heading to the mouth of the cave again, holding my phone at a distance as I used my free hand to splash water on my face. "What do you want?"

"_To talk to you you ungrateful sod," _Christie stated, I heard her crunch on something which made me raise my eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"_Eating a cookie Omen made, since he said he finally had some time to make something," _She replied after finishing eating. _"They are actually so amazing. We would have saved you some but they're all gone now."_

"Let me guess. You woke up and ate the last ones?" I asked, hand on my hip.

"_No, Yuffie did too," _Christie answered, crunching on the cookie again. _"Still, what you up to? Nothing dirty I hope."_

"I was sleeping, I plannedto get through the night without seeing..." I gritted my teeth. "I hate that woman..."

"_Yeah Omen said something about that Lucrecia being stuck in a crystal," _Christie yawned, to which I yawned in return. _"Seriously though, I thought she was dead."_

"She is. That's just a corpse," I muttered lowly, looking around to make sure Vincent was still asleep. "I don't know why she's still lingering, but I really hate it."

"_Wow how much do you hate this woman?" _Christie asked me. _"I mean is all this because Vincent likes her?"_

"I'm not petty Christie," I deadpanned. "She used Vincent as an experiment and her own child as one. She had no emotion towards that. It was too late when she realised what she did," I looked at Lucrecia again, narrowing my eyes. "Is this what she meant by atoning? Locking herself up in a damn cave?"

"_Hey Vincent did the same."_

"He's alive, she isn't," I stated bluntly. "He has a chance to 'atone' even though he has nothing to atone for." I sighed, calming myself down.

"You really think that?" I froze when I could Vincent's voice. I turned around and stared at him, the PHS still in my hand.

"_See you later Angie," _Christie hung up on me and I put it back in my pocket, not taking my eyes off Vincent. How much did he hear?

"... Yes I do think you have nothing to atone for," I told him, trying to keep calm in front of him. Vincent didn't blink at me, which unnerved me a little.

"You have no idea what I can become Angevale," He said without any emotion in his voice. "I'm a monster. I can't ever atone for that." I looked at him with a hint of sadness. How could he say he was a monster?

"... You're not," I told him.

"When you see it... it will terrify you..." He told me, as though he'd know how I'd react. I stood defiantly against his claim and shook my head.

"I won't be scared. You can't scare me," I told him, adopting a defiant gaze and feeling my lips pout out a little. "I promise."

I promise... I will never be scared of you Vincent... or whatever monsters you say you can become...


	72. Holy

Holy

We hadn't returned to the Forgotten City since that day Aerith died. Nanaki's grandfather was with us this time. We had picked up Vincent and Angie beforehand and had just arrived. We were all walking to a large hall like area with a crystal in the centre. It must have been some sort of meeting hall for the Ancients.

"So why are we here?" Angie asked as we walked.

"Well while we at the Cosmo Canyon we tried to think of a way we could stop Meteor since Shinra failed," I explained, stretching my arms as we walked. "Eventually Cloud started to meantion Aerith and what she was doing here. Bugenhagen suggested we come back here to find out."

"Oh..." Angie mumbled. Christie walked beside her, cracking her neck a little.

"Yeah what was she here for anyway?" She asked, shaking her head. "I mean she wanted to stop Sephiroth, but why not with us?"

"She thought she was the only one who could," Angie stated. We walked to the centre of the hall with Bugenhagen. Angie, the closest thing we had to a Cetra, stared at the crystal in thought. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around.

"Bugenhagen, sir, what exactly are we here for?" I asked. The old man chuckled as he floated a foot or two above ground.

"This place is telling me one thing... the Planet is in a crisis," He stated. Bit of an obvious understatement. "We must search for Holy... when the time comes of course." Angie stepped onto the small walkway, nearing the crystal and staring at it. No one followed her. The centrepiece was tiny and we could fall off if we packed up onto it.

"Mother..." She mumbled, placing her hand on the crystal. Closing her eyes she concentrated, as though she was in deep thought. "My mother was here... so was Fina..." We looked at Angie, who still had her eyes closed. "Beyond time and space a crisis will occur, one beyond the control of humans and Cetra... Holy must be called upon... the only hope is Holy. The Ultimate White Magick against the Ultimate Black Magick... all that is bad for the Planet will diminish with the clash..." We kept silent. Angie opened her eyes and looked at us all. "... That could mean us as well..."

"Wait, so you're sayin' that if Holy's called we'll all go anyway just like if Meteor hits?" Cid asked quite angrily. Rightly so, we didn't go through all of this just to be destroyed by Holy!

"It's possible, after all Shinra's done," Vincent mumbled. Well he was right there.

"Holy won't be able to be cast..." Cloud mumbled as well. Was it just me or was there a sudden trend for mumbling around? "Aerith had the Materia..."

"The White Materia," Angie stated for Cloud. He nodded in response. Then it all clicked into place.

"That's what she was trying to do! Cast Holy and stop Sephiroth before he had the chance to call Meteor!" I exclaimed. I sighed, looking down. "Thing is... we don't know if she succeeded or not... and we can't get the Materia..." With that Tifa and Cloud dashed off suddenly. We didn't call for them to stop, we just let them try.

"Shouldn't there be another way?" Nanaki asked, mainly to his grandfather.

"Hohohoooo, possibly m'boy," Bugenhagen replied. Christie then put her two gil in.

"Angie the Silver Materia," The what? Since when was there an inbetween?

"Christie... Hojo has it..." The red head replied. "He's had it ever since we escaped from Midgar."

"Well if it channels your power then maybe you could stop it? You're God... right?"

"Just because I'm God doesn't mean I can use my powers," She mumbled. Again with the mumbling! "But... I could try... if I had it back..." She looked down, then noticed something. I looked over to see Cloud and Tifa running back, breathing heavily and gasping for air.

"We... tried to get back to the altar..." Tifa panted. "It's... blocked off..."

"So there's no hope?" Cid asked.

"Captain be more optimistic," I scolded, avoiding a backhand again. Why must he show his love through violence?

"Forgive me for what I've done Ultima..." We all turned to Angie mumbling again to herself. She was reading something off the ground. "Angie should you ever come back to our birthplace I pray you use the key to see the truth, Fina..." She picked up some bony thing and looked at it. Christie looked away as Angie stood. "The key... where's the lock?"

"Angevale, if I may," She looked at Bugenhagen, handing him the key as he floated over to another area, placing the key into it's lock. A tune began playing. It sounded familiar... from Nibelhiem?

Suddenly water began gushing down in front of us and the crystal glowed brightly. It then projected an image... a memory... Aerith's death...

The White Materia that had dropped from her hair fell into the water, glowing a pale green. Soon enough... we realised what it meant.

"Guys, Holy's been cast! She managed to do it!" Angie exclaimed happily. It was short lived though. "... But where is it then...?"

"Sephiroth's holding it back," Cloud stated. "Stop him and we free Holy. Free Holy and we stop Meteor."

"No easy task, but it should be fun," Christie stated. "Well... how do we get to him?"

"... No idea." Angie then froze in place as Cloud's words, staring at the projection as it distorted in front of her. I stepped forward, sensing her anxiety.

"Angie...?" She just kept looking at the water.

"No... something's not right..." She mumbled. Suddenly a different projection formed, a white figure rising from the ocean. We gasped and gaped at the sight... it looked like... "Another Weapon..." The projection then changed to Midgar where... what the Hell is the Mako Cannon doing there?

"Wait... I know wit's goin' on..." Cait Sith spoke. "Shinra... are planning to use that Cannon... the Sister Ray... to take out Sephiroth..."

"They've got bigger problems," Christie stated, watching the Weapon walk through the water with ease. "Wait... that's right near us! It's heading straight for Midgar!"

"We have to stop it! We have to!" Angie exclaimed. I looked at Cid, who groaned in frustration.

"If you think I'm ramming my baby into that thing forget it!" Angie groaned and started running towards the Highwind suddenly, leaping past the key and leaving us behind.

"Angie wait!" Christie called. We all rushed after her. I had a bad feeling this would be just like the other Weapon encounter...

* * *

Right guys, I'm aware I slipped up in Chapter 66, saying the Silver Materia was around Angie's neck. In truth it's still with Hojo so I've fixed that mistake up. Sorry for that.


	73. Diamond

Diamond

"Cid can't you get any closer?" I yelled, looking out the window as we flew across the ocean following the Weapon. I had my swords, well only one could be called my own, and gripped them tightly in my fists.

"You crazy? We'd have to wait til it hits the mainland and even then I ain't going anywhere near that thing!" Cid yelled at the controls. I growled and looked back out at the ocean. That Weapon would destroy all of Midgar if it wasn't stopped.

"Whoa!" We suddenly turned to Cait Sith, who looked as though he was being electrocuted. He then stopped and shook a little. "Wow, controls went crazy there, must be the Weapon interferin'." Barret then approached the cat.

"If that Weapon's heading for Midgar then what about Marlene!?" He yelled. His daughter... was still there.

"Not tae worry, she's wi' Aerith's mama," Cait Sith replied. As Barret turned away Cait Sith looked angry all of a sudden. "Wit's the matter with ye? I mean as long as Marlene's safe safe nothing else matters, right?" Cait Sith seemed to get angrier at this point, almost yelling. "Ye know wit? I've been itchin' tae say this a while now!" We were all getting kind of surprised at how angry Cait Sith sounded. "When ye blew up the Reactors do you know how many people died!?" He was right. All to save the Planet we killed so many...

"That was to save the Planet ya gotta expect a few casulites!" Barret yelled back, turning it into a shouting contest.

"A few? A _few_!? Wit dae ye mean 'a few'!?" Cait Sith yelled out. "It may 'ave been 'a few' tae you but it wis everythin' tae those who died!" We kept the awkward silence going to Cait Sith seethed. "Save the Planet! Ye think that jist 'cause no one will go against ye ye can dae witever ye like!"

"I don't wanna that from some Shinra scum!" Barret yelled back.

"Stop it!" A few of us yelled louder than the two of them. We had arrived near the land and I turned to Cid.

"Cid now! We have to!"

"I can't get any closer even if I wanted to!" Cid barked. "That thing's got some weird field around it!" I frustration, I ran out.

"If you won't get me any closer I'll jump off then!"

* * *

On the deck I stood up on the railings and looked down, determining my jump and where I would land. The doors opened and everyone had run outside.

"Angie you're not fighting that thing alone!" Christie yelled over the wind. I ignored her and kept looking down at the ground, tipping myself forward and dropping off and feeling the air pass me by as the ground became closer and I flipped forward, landing on the ground roughly and charging towards the Weapon.

I slashed my blades into the Weapons leg to stop it moving, but it didn't even notice the scratches. I threw my blade at it which only bounced off it, clanging against the ground. I looked up at the Weapon as it continued to go to Midgar.

It then roared suddenly as a burst of flame shot at it as well as icicles and lightning bolts. Cloud, Tifa and Nanaki jumped down and attacked the Weapon. Christie put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me.

"Plan B?" She smiled. Remembering that statement from seven years ago I smiled.

"What was it again or did it just not exist?" I smiled back. Nodding Christie took off her Dual Hounds and placed them on her belt, closing her eyes and then twitching her arms as her blades shot out, covered in blood.

"Gaaah... been a while," She groaned, rolling her shoulders back before running to the Weapon. I ran, grabbed my blade and flicking them both, fire engulfing the two of them.

Christie's blades lit up with gold Aura and cut deeply into the Weapon's leg. Cid leapt up and stabbed it with his spear as Vincent shot up at it. I trailed my swords along the ground and set fire to the ground around it. The Weapon halted as the firey wall rose up and Omen slid up on an ice ramp, blasting it's face with strong cryomancy.

Nanaki leapt up and bit at the monster before being thrown off as I continued on its way to Midgar. Growling Christie and Cloud ran up to it, hacking away uselessly before it kicked them off.

"Damn it we can't stop the thing!" Omen yelled as it stomped to Midgar.

"So Midgar's doomed..." Tifa frowned, looking down. Omen attempted to freeze it in it's place but it just broke through his ice like glass. We just watched as it walked away.

"How do we stop that thing?" I growled. Christie pulled me back from fighting it, as did Vincent.

"Let's get back to the Highwind," She told me, tugging on my arm. "C'mon Angie!" Eventually I let her pull me back to the Highwind, which had landed a distance away.

* * *

Omen took the wheel of the Highwind and flew up to the sky and we circled the Weapon a good distance above it. The Weapon revealed its weapons and stood in place. We all tensed up as it aimed straight for Midgar. It then fired and Omen drove the Highwind forward a bit.

"Omen fuck's sake get higher!" Cid yelled at the Phantom, who pushed up his glasses and nodded.

"Yeah Captain," We went a bit higher and heard a crashing noise from the direction of Midgar. Omen turned the Highwind around and we watched as a huge bullet of Lifestream blasted through the air, right through the Weapon.

"What the Hell was that!?" Christie exclaimed.

"That wis the Sister Ray," Cait Sith answered. "It just went righ' through..." We looked to Midgar. The Shinra building had caught aflame from Weapon's fire. I looked back to the Weapon, seeing it dissolve into Lifestream.

"No it didn't... the Sister Ray decidmated it..." I gaped. Then I remembered. "They weren't going for the Weapon... it just got in the way..."

"Of course! Sephiroth!" Christie exclaimed. "Omen! Get to the Northern Crater!"

"Got it," Omen nodded. It didn't take too long to get close to the Crater and see that Sephiroth's barrier has been destroyed. "Wow... remind me never to fly near that Sister Ray..."

"Sephiroth's vulnerable now," Nanaki said. We heard roaring and Omen suddenly jerked the ship back and away from the Crater.

"Omen we can stop Sephiroth now go back!" Christie yelled angrily at him.

"No way! Not with those things around!" Omen pointed out and we looked out the window again.

"Holy fuck... more Weapons..." Cid muttered. Three Weapons, one of which was the one we had faught at Mideel. They all dived into the Crater one after the other, confusing us quite a bit. "Hey I thought they were more interested in killing us?"

"No... they were after Sephiroth..." I mumbled. "They couldn't get to Sephiroth because of that barrier..."

"Eh, guys, we've got a problem," Cait Sith spoke up. He tried to turn up the radio but the frequency was acting up. After a few more moments Omen begun to pull back and fly back to Midgar.

"_W-what!? That's not wise! The Sister Ray has to cool down for three hours before becoming stable again!" _We heard Scarlet scream once we got away from the Crater. _"Reeve shut off the machine!"_

"_I can't! Control's been converted to manual!" _Reeve yelled back. That's when everyone clicked on. We had only heard Scarlet, Heidegger and Rufus. The logical assumption would be that Reeve was the one controlling Cait Sith. _"Call the mainframe! Now!"_ We heard more static for a moment before hearing familiar mumblings.

"What the fuck!?" Barret yelled. I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth in anger. What was that madman doing?

The frequency began acting up again and Cait Sith tried to fix it, failing miserable for ten minutes. Eventually he just gave up and sighed.

"... Hojo's gonnae use the Sister Ray and give the Mako to Sephiroth..." Cait Sith sighed. "We cannae stop him, he'll destroy Midgar if he activates the Cannon."

"Reeve can't you just shut down the Reactors?" Cloud asked. Cait Sith was a little shocked by the use of his real name.

"I cannae shut off the Reactors, they'll go underneath and cause an explosion bigger then when the Reactors blew up..." He explained. "I mean, Rufus is dead and Scarlet and Heidegger are taking control..." Eventually I just gave up.

"The solution's obivious here!" I yelled loudly, feeling angrier with every passing moment wasted time. "We kill Hojo! We go down to Midgar and kill him!"

* * *

And this ends the Weapon Arc. Now we head on to the Assault Arc in which Avalanche will attempt to end everything once and for all with Shinra.


	74. Drop Down

Drop Down

"We kill Hojo! We go down to Midgar and kill him!" I screamed as everyone kept silent. Omen drove around nearby Midgar, keeping a fair distance away. Beneath we could hear sirens and panic of the city. Christie crossed her arms, carefully as her arms blades were still out, and looked out the window.

"... We know you'll go," She stated, blinking a few times before walking towards me. "So if you have to go and kill this guy, at least take us with you. Hojo may have hurt you, but he's done much more then that. He's hurt possibly everyone here in some way."

"Girl's got a point," Omen piped in. "And I'm pretty worried about what could happen if you don't manage to get there alone." They were right... Hojo had harmed us all... and going alone was stupid.

"I won't ignore help then, especially from you all," I said nodding. "We'll all go down and kill Hojo. We'll make him pay... and stop him from helping Sephiroth."

"That's more like it!" Cid exclaimed. "Omen get on auto-pilot and grab the parachutes!" Omen did just that and I looked at Christie. Blood dripped from her arms, covering her natural blades in blood.

"How many times have we gotta jump?" She asked me.

"Probably many more after this," I replied as both of us put on parachutes. "It seemed to be a sort of bonding thing between us."

"So where are we diving to?" Yuffie asked, turning paler than normal.

"We'll drop down to the Plate and head straight for the Sister Ray, take down anyone who gets in the way," Cloud replied bluntly. Easy enough.

"It'd be better if ye could go underground, I know a way into the train rails and it'll be no problem walking through them since all the trains are oot," Cait Sith explained. "The whole Shinra Army is gonnae be after ye lot."

"He's got a point," Tifa nodded. "So we'll take the underground and then head to the Sister Ray that way."

* * *

_Christie's POV_

Soon after we were falling through the air, parachutes open and descending into the Upper Plate of Midgar. It had been ages since we had been here, well in truth all I did was be stuck the Shinra building for ages until the others came to save me.

Taking off the parachute I flicked my hair back, rolling back my shoulders. Omen landed down by me and surveyed the area. He then suddenly scampered up a building without any handholds, using the windowsills as handholds. He quickly made his way to the top of the building and scouted around, jumping off when a helicopter flew by.

"Okay, the Sister Ray is in Sector 8, shouldn't be too far if we hurry," He stated. I stared at him, which made him shrug. "Did I forget to mention that I free-run? Well, used to. Bit rusty since we've been travelling with no chance for me to do it."

"Guys, come on before the Shinra get here!" Angie yelled, beside a hatch. We ran and I dropped right down, while Omen slid down the ladder and Angie climbed down. I used my Magnetism to shut the hatch and squeeze it shut. We then started our way down the walkways.

Omen ran ahead, showing off his free-running skills that he so conveniently kept hush hush about. He was swinging and clambering along pipes. We followed him as he checked that the place was cleared.

"So Omen, anything else you didn't say about your skills?" I called to him, climbing up a ladder.

"Nah, well I'm still surprised I'm good at this, been ages since I've done this," Omen said, jumping onto the walkway. "You'd be good at it Chris, I bet," He smiled and walked ahead. "Ghost was better though, she was faster at it."

"You really speak highly of her," I commented. "Was she like, superhuman?"

"No, but I love my sister and I don't speak about her rudely," He replied. "She was my best friend, she had my back and I had hers. After she got kidnapped I beat up every person who spoke bad of her."

"Seriously?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, especially her ex, that bastard spoke the worst of her," He growled. "I hate him, he did it, I know he did. I know he did it and no one believes me." I mumbled to himself. Whoever this ex was he really hated him. He turned and kept walking.

"Omen what did he do?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. He turned to me slowly, shaking a little from his memories.

"... He sent them... the Demons... he sent them to burn down Vatica... he sent them to kidnap my sister..." He shook angrily. "And no one believed me when I accused him... he said it was just grief... but he did... he did... and one day I'll kill him for it..." He clenched his fists.

"Well you'll get your chance," Angie said. "For now focus your hatred on Hojo."


	75. New Allies

New Allies

"Finally, we're getting closer," Barret sighed as we dropped down a vent and into the train tracks. I was getting memories of when we went to blow up Sector 5's Reactor. We looked around, unsure of our location but thankful that there were no trains around.

"We seem tae be quite close tae Sector 8," Cait Sith stated, looking around. "If we go that way we'll get tae the Sister Ray."

"We won't allow that to happen!" We all stopped and turned back around. Four Turks were advancing towards us. Rude, Elena, Cissnei and... and... Reno... I gulped a little as he looked at me, a sort of disappointment in his face. He couldn't look at me. I couldn't look at him either. Cissnei just stepped forward. "You're all under arrest for interfering with Shinra."

"Can we resist?" Omen asked rhetorically, hovering his hands over his fans.

"Our orders were to seek you out and... and kill," Elena visibly gulped. "An order's an order... we have to..." Without a second thought everyone had whipped out their weapons. Everyone except me and Reno.

"Reno," Rude simply said, looking at the red head from behind his sunglasses. Reno sighed and kicked at the ground.

"I'm not really up for this..." He mumbled before looking at me. His face was straight but his eyes looked so sad. I looked back at him, probably just as sadly.

"Reno it's an order!" Cissnei yelled. "We have to..." She sighed, gripping her weapon tighter.

"Cissnei..." He gripped onto his rod and placed it on his shoulder. I turned to the side, rubbing my arms. "I don't... no..." He gritted his teeth and stood in front of the three Turks. "No, I refuse."

"You're disobeying orders!?" Elena gasped. "Reno how could you?"

"Shinra's done for," Reno said, trying to keep his cool. "I refuse to... emotion before duty." I looked up and at him. He inverted... what I had said.

"Reno what could you possibly be emotional for?" Cissnei grumbled at him. Rude had removed himself from his fighting stance. Wait did he... know?

"Wait, he has a point," Angie suddenly put her swords away and stepped forward. "How about we do as we did in Wutai... not bother each other?" I looked at her, then at the Turks, who seemed a bit bewildered.

"Not bother each other?" Rude spoke, his arms crossed. Angie nodded, looking at me and winking.

"You know that's a good idea," Omen continued for Angie, his weapons away also. "Listen, we're wasting time talking, and waste even more fighting. Hojo is going to use the Sister Ray and destroy all of Midgar doing so. What point would it be following orders?" He was right... we needed to go now. We were wasting time...

"... We need to evacuate people from the Shinra building," Reno said. "We could use the extra help from you guys... I mean you don't all need to go stop him, right?" What he really meant was that he wanted my help. Sounded a bit full of myself there. After a few moments silence Yuffie stepped forward, standing near the Turks.

"You guys saved me from that weirdo," She explained. "As much as I hate Shinra, I don't want anymore innocent people to suffer." Soon after, Cid stood forward.

"Yeah I'll go too," Cait Sith, Nanaki and Barret joined as well. I looked at Omen, who walked forward, standing by Cid. I then looked at Angie, who nodded at me. I nodded at her then the Turks.

"Right... if we both survive..." Reno was directing that at me. They had turned around and began to run down the tracks. I looked at Angie again.

"... Well what are you waiting for?" She asked. I kept looking at her.

"... Thank you," I smiled, running after the group. Even running as I heard Angie's voice echo down the tunnel.

"You owe me!"

"Hey! Hold it!" I ran faster as they all stopped. I then came to a stop in front of Reno, who I looked up at, smiling a little. "Emotion before duty." Reno smiled a little at me, pulling me into a hug.

"Knew you couldn't resist," He whispered, making me push him and smile. We all began to run towards the Shinra building. The odd thing was that Reno had taken a hold of my hand as we were running.


	76. Rescue Mission

Rescue Mission

"Nevina, Nevina, Nevina why did ye decide tae dae this?" I grumbled tae myself, climbing over some rubble. I felt drawn tae Midgar right now. Well I have been drawn tae trouble constantly for seven years. "I mean why not? Everyone wants tae visit the Shinra building when it's been half blown up!"

I'm never able tae fight aff my curiosity. I had tae find out what was going on here, or at least find people who were still alive.

I was on the sixty-fourth floor, ducking underneath fallin' bits a roof. Cursin' tae mysel' as I tripped over a feckin' bit of desk. The place was covered in dust and blood which made me shiver badly everytime I looked at it.

"Hey! Anyone alive!?" I yelled out, feelin' kinda nostalgic from daein so. I cursed again when I tripped up. "Ah feck c'mon ye twat!" I grumbleg, pullin' mesel' back up.

"Wait! I hear someone!" I heard a voice echo. Wait, that couldnae be... Omen? Nah, it couldnae... "Upstairs, they're alive and kicking!" That _wis_ Omen! Wit wis he daein here?

"Omen?" I called out, hopin' he'd hear me.

"Nevi!?" I seen Omen's white haired head poke up the stairs, runnin' up tae me. "What are you doing here? You'll get yourself killed. You're not hurt are you?" He seemed to act differently fae when we met in the Crater. He wis back tae himself from the look of it.

"Aye I'm fine," I pushed him away as he looked fer cuts or bruises on me. Behin' him I seen Cissnei and the other Turks approaching. Immediantly I pulled out me Dad's stiletto dagger fae me belt and put it in a defensive stance. Omen looked at them as some of those Avalance people walked up.

"Calm down, we've got a truce going on," Omen put his hand over mine and made me lower my dagger. "We've been evacuating people, you seen any?"

"Nah," I stated bluntly, putting my dagger away. "I came 'ere when that Cannon got installed. Felt I 'ad tae," The black haired lassie, dinnae mind wit her name wis, stepped towards me an' studied me.

"Right, so you don't know why you're here?" She asked, so I shook me head. "Right... then you should get out while you can."

"How 'bout naw?" I retorted, hands on me hips. "Anyone care tae tell me wit's goin' on?"

"Stubborn," The lassie muttered.

"Chris," Reno looked sternly at her, which wis odd tae me. Chris jist glared at him then poked his shoulder wi' one of her silver nails. "Ouch... anyway Nevina, we have to evacuate everyone out of Midgar before Hojo uses the Sister Ray again. If he does, bye-bye Midgar." My blood ran cold at Hojo's name. I wanted tae kill that cunt badly.

"Where is he?" I asked the Turks.

"At the Sister Ray controls, don't worry we've got people on it," Omen replied fer them. Suddenly we could hear this giant clash goin' on. Without notice everyone wis running up tae the seventieth floor. The place wis a total ruin but we could see the clash fae there.

As the Turks began searching the place the rest of us looked down tae see a giant red robot bein' attacked by fire and bullets and swords and fists.

"Tifa's got balls," Omen suddenly said. "I mean she's pretty much the only one who'll run up and kill everything with her fists. Regardless of what it is."

"Hey so do I," Chris countered the statement, tae which Omen shrugged.

"You got arm blades and stuff, Tifa's got fists alone," He pointed to her bloody bandages on her forearms. "I know you would if you could, but you're one for the extra beating and pain."

"Okay, good point," Chris looked down. It looked as if that thing wis winning.

"How many are doon there?" I asked.

"Cloud, Angie, Vincent and Tifa," Omen replied before lookin' at Chris. "Who wants to lend a hand?"

"Do you have to ask?" Christie lifted her hand and a gold glow formed on it. She sent a beam of it at the robot, knocking it intae a building. I jumped out of shock as the others began attacking if they could. Omen, as I expected, was freezing the thing in it's place.

"Heideggar and Scarlet are in there," Elena mumbled. I turned tae the Turks wi' a raised eyebrow. These guys sure were screwed without a boss.

"Rufus isn't here either, we can't find his body," Cissnei stated. Wow did that Weapon thing realy decimate Rufus' body to nothing?

"He may have survived..." Rude mumbled beneath his breath. He could be right. Not sure how right but still.

Lookin' back tae the fight Chris had somehow pulled aff one of the robot's arms and it wis flying intae the building. Wit did she 'ave Telekinesis tae? Well the people doon belowe were havin' an easier time of it.

"So is Hojo definitely at the Cannon controls?" I asked Omen as he threw down four icicles.

"Yeah, he's controlling it manually," He replied. Soon enough the robot had taken notice of us and aimed a missile towards us.

"Get out the way!" Cissnei yelled out, suddenly grabbing my shoulders and tossing me intae a wall. I kept my head down as I heard a massive blast and got hit my rubble on my head.

When I looked up everyone wis on the ground. Well everyone except Cissnei, who wis nowhere tae be found. I coughed fae the dust and looked around. I really didnae know where Cissnei wis.

Wait... don't tell me... no she couldnae be...

"They took out the..." Omen coughed hoarsely, getting a lungful of dust. "The robot." He coughed again. Immdiantly I ran tae him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Omen get me doon there!" I ordered.

"What?" Omen coughed again. "Nevi I can't. You can't take Hojo."

"Wit does it matter! He hurt me tae ye know!" I yelled, shaking him. "Get me doon there!" That Chris then got me by the shoulder and looked at me in the eye. Whoa I didnae know she wis half blind.

"They're all down there because they have a personal reason against Hojo," She told me sternly. "What is your reason?" I looked at her, kind of intimidated. Still, if I needed a reason I'd give her one.

"He took my fiancé away fae me," I grumbled. "He twisted Loveless about and took him and my best friend away fae me." Christie looked at Omen, who I'm pretty sure was nodding in agreement. He knew. "I need to get back at Hojo... he gave the order..." I felt tears in my eyes. I wisnae sure if his orders or Marrisa's act wis worse...

Chris sharply whistled which made me look up and shudder a bit fae nerves.

"Omen, get her down there," She ordered. Omen have her a nod and created an icy slide fer me to go doon. I looked at Chris and smiled a little.

"Thanks," I said. "Listen, get everyone tae either Kalm or Healen. I'll make sure everyone's okay." I got on the icy slide and did me best tae keep my balance as I zoomed doon it.

I made my ungraceful entrance by stumbling forward and falling right intae Cloud's chest.


	77. Heretic Hojo

Heretic Hojo

"Ehh, surprise?" That Nevina girl said nervously. Cloud stared down at her, slightly confused at her presence, as we all were.

"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked.

"Same as ye lot: Kill Hojo," Nevina replied roughly and angrily. "I'm no takin' no fer an answer." She seemed adamant about going with us, but she had no fighting experience at all. "If it helps any I got that Chris' permission, and Omen's."

"You can't," Cloud began and before he could state reasons Nevina began yelling loudly.

"Wit dae ye mean I cannae!?" She screamed. "Hojo hurt me tae! I need tae get back at him fer wit he did tae me!" He blue eyes looked angrily at Cloud. Soon after we all had pulsing headaches. It felt as though my head would explode. "I'm goin' wi' ye."

"Cloud," I groaned through the headache. "Listen we don't have time for this. The more time we spend here the more time Hojo has to activate the Cannon. She's here now let's just go." With that Nevina had calmed down and the headaches had suddenly vanished. Cloud realised this logic and gave me a nod.

"Fine, we'll go," He said. We ran towards the stairs and up them quickly, with Nevina asking questions.

"The Turks telt me that Heidegger and Scarlet were in that thing there," She was saying as we ran up the stairs to the controls. "Wit happened tae them?"

"They were crushed by the Proud Clod," I responded. "They died almost instantaneously."

"They deserved it," She grumbled. After that it was silence as we ascended the stairs to Hojo and his fate.

* * *

Upon arrivial Hojo's cackling and mumbles were heard immediantly, making my stomach churn with fear and anger. For a change I did what I had done when I confronted him in the Shinra building. I took my gun and left fire form in my left hand.

"Hojo!" I screamed out as everyone brought out their weaponry. I was surprised that Nevina had a dagger with her. The man stopped pressing buttons and turned to us. I could feel my body shake as he looked at me with a smirk.

"Well well, if it isn't Angevale Rhapsods and Vincent Valentine," He began calmly, looking down upon us. "And of course the failure, his foolish little friend and..." He looked at Nevina, who was growling like a dog at him. "Of course, little Nevina Sinclair."

"Shut yer face ye old cunt!" She barked.

"Now now, didn't your father ever teach you manners?" Hojo clearly hit a nerve as we could feel out heads pulsing in pain as she yelled.

"I said _shut up_!" I put my hand out in front of her, a hand on my forehead.

"Calm yourself," I told her quietly, still shaking. She recomposed herself but she was still angry. "Hojo stop this now."

"Hah! What you plan to do to stop me?" He laughed. "I know you're afraid of me Angevale, ever since I killed Valentine. Even now you're shaking," He was right. I _was_ terrified and I _was_ shaking with fear. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking the safety off my gun. "What a shame Oblivion isn't here to protect you. You always needed someone to be there. Such an annoyance. Not even worthy of the title of being Fina's Project A." That cut deep into my heart and I gritted my teeth.

"I... will still kill you..." I growled, firing into his shoulder. I was aiming for his chest but I was no good with guns. Unlike the way Vincent and Lysander were...

Cloud and Tifa ran up to Hojo and attacked him, as did Nevina who stabbed into the back of his neck as me and Vincent fired from the back. Somehow Hojo shoved them off and began laughing insanely, causing me to shake more.

"You think I'd be here unprepared?" He laughed madly. "Ha ha ha... such foolish humans you are..."

"Hojo..." Vincent began growling, making the scientist stare at him. "You will _never_ atone for what you've done..." I got even more scared as he raised his voice. "You should have slept in that coffin! Not me!" It felt just like the fight they had before...

"Silence you pathetic creature!" Hojo suddenly had a gun in his hand... no... no... no not again!

As he fired I screamed out as the bullet hit Vincent in the chest. He fell down and groaned out as I collapsed beside him, crying almost immediantly.

"Oh yer gonnae pay fer that!" Nevina yelled and ran to Hojo, who fired again, shooting her in the arm. He then shot Tifa and Cloud in their chests, laughing as he did so.

"What pathetic creatures you all are," He cackled. "And now to help my son. He needs the Mako for Meteor after all."

"Sephiroth..." Cloud coughed, blood dripping rapidly from his wound. "He's... your son..." I kept crying over Vincent.

"HA HA HA," I began trembling uncontrollably as I cried harder over Vincent's body. "He never knew as well! All I did was give Lucrecia to the Jenova Project. That foolish woman agreed to experiment on her own child, not once did she think twice on it until it was too late!" I curled my hands up into fists, still shaking. "Much more of a dedicated scientist than Fina was. Always regretting her work. Such a failure she was in herself." I cried more at that statement, but felt angrier. I could hear him going back to the controls, clattering away at buttons and keys, ready to activate the Cannon.

Standing up Ifelt my legs grow weak from fear and pain. Anger kept me standing. I turned my head and held up my gun shakily. Trying to hard not to falter my aim, I shot straight into his back, just as I did Oblivion seven years ago. The man fell forward onto the panel, groaning in pain but not dying. I let a gold glow form on my hand and four orbs floated out, hitting my friends and healing their wounds. They stood up quickly as I fired three times at Hojo, moving closer to him slowly and shakily.

"You did all of this..." I cried, shooting him. "You caused all of this to happen..." I shot again, getting closer, feeling myself pick up speed. "You hurt everyone for your fucking experiments! For your own fucking amusement! You should have died long ago!" I was running at him shooting, screaming at the top of my lungs. "Why won't you die!?" I was about to grab him by the shoulder and shoot him in the head when he turned around, backhanding me and sending me to the ground. I cried and crawled backwards, feeling Vincent pull me up and away from him as he laughed... laughed like a Demon...

"Foolish child!" He laughed out, his voice distorted. I shook with fear as he spoke, moving closer to Vincent. I wasn't able to look away. "I was defeated by my desire as a scientist... for my research..." He laughed again and I begun to whimper. "I had injected myself with Jenova's Cells some time ago... into my own body!" His skin was beginning to turn a sickly green colour as he spoke. Veins were surfacing and his chest began to bulge out. "And now... here are my... results!" Not once did I look away from the horror that unravelled before us. Not once did he stop laughing.

Hojo's chest cavity ripped open, revealing grey and blue organs inside. His neck slung right back and his jaw extended grotesquely, his teeth pointing and his eyes bulging out of their sockets. From his chest a claw formed, ripping the hole open wider, slamming on the ground. A hand of tentacles burst from his left arm, blue and slimey and slithering along the ground. His legs broke, fusing into one and bursting into deforming, horrific roots. From his back came horrible growths, pulsating and slimey like the tentacles. His whole body changed. It was disgusting... it was... it wasn't human... it was... so horrible.

I cried harder, gagging as it laughed grotesquely. I could hear the others gagging and Nevina vomited over the side of the railing. I tried my best not to do the same. The thing... Hojo... he laughed madly, using his claw to pry Vincent away from me, knocking us both to the ground.

"Oh I think I'm gonnae boke again!" Nevina gagged as his tentacles slithered their way towards Tifa, Nevina and myself. Cloud ran towards them but the claw blocked his path so he struck at that instead. I backed away from the tentacle coming towards me. Nevina was holding out her hands and trying to push it away while Tifa stomped down hard on it.

I cried as it got closer to me, snaking up my legs and holding me in place. I could feel the slime seep through my clothes and onto my skin. I kept shaking even as the tentacle squeezed my arms tightly. I went hysterical as it reached my face, terrified of what he'd do to me as I shut my eyes tightly.

"Vincent..." I cried out, unable to defend myself. "Vincent help me..."

I heard a roar as something sliced up the tentacle, the slime covering my body. I opened my eyes and found something standing in front of me. Red wings and kind of monsterous looking... but... he looked like... that thing looked like Vincent.

"What!?" The distorted voice of Hojo exclaimed, causing me to cry more. I felt the monster's claw touch my shoulder reassuringly. "That can't be possible... Chaos!?" Chaos... Vincent was... he was Chaos? He could control Chaos?

"Holy feck!" Nevina cried out, slashing the tentacle in two as it reached eye level with her. She ran backwards, gagging when she looked at the face of the mutant.

Its jaw extended further and it let out a scream of anger. Chaos leapt towards him and slashed his jaw clean off. He span around Hojo and ripped apart a pulsing growth, pus spewing continuously from it as Hojo writhed in pain. From behind me I heard Nevina gagging and vomiting once again.

Cloud and Tifa were aiding Chaos in attacking the hideous mutant. Cloud hacking up the pulsing growths and Tifa cracking and breaking the claws of his right hand. Chaos ripped apart Hojo's tentacles, making them shrivel and writhe around the ground helplessly.

I stood paralysed with fear, crying more as they fought. I couldn't do anything to fight Hojo. Even Nevina was doing better, ripping up his deformed roots with her dagger. Chaos was doing the most damage to the thing, though, completely destroying parts of the monster. As it roared in anger and pain I felt my pulse race and my body go out of control with terror.

In a swift moment the thing lunged forwards. Towards me. With a scream I looked away, falling to my knees curled up and shooting blindly at the thing.

Suddenly I felt the claws of Chaos pull me back and not let go. I looked at Hojo, who's body slumped to the ground. The orange core in the middle was cracked and pussing from a wild bullet shot. His severed tentacles wrapped around his body and the pus began to bubble and burn into his slimely skin. The core's hole got bigger as though something was wriggling out of it. Once again most of us had begun to gag.

"Feck this cannae get any worse can it?" Nevina whined, doing her best not to throw up for a third time. From inside the core a creature shot up, floating above the hideous corpse. Chaos leapt for it without warning and slashed off its arm, as it dodged and flew towards us, sticking its trendil into Nevina's chest, making her grow paler and paler as it infected her with pus.

Still shaking my instincts got the better of me and I put away my gun in favour of my sword. With a cry I hacked the trendily off, ripping it out of Nevina's chest and healing her. She still felt woozy and stumbled, falling down near unconscious. I turned to the creature and blasted it with flames, sending it back to the controls and making it scream out. It still had the distorted voice of Hojo.

Cloud yelled at me to duck, so I obligied and let him hack at the creature also. Chaos leapt up from behind and broke the thing's neck, looking at me to attack. With my shaking hand I raised my blade and plunged it into the thing's chest. Tifa then ripped off the rest of the trendil and whipped it around its neck choking it as Chaos flew back. I pulled out my blade and backed away from it.

The thing begun to squirm and burn from the pus it spewed out. It dropped down onto the ground, burning the bodies of Hojo's mutant forms. Behind them was Hojo's real body, almost completely ripped in two.

"You bastard!" Nevina yelled, running up to the body and kicking it. As she did so I begun to cry again, closing my eyes and shaking more. I heard a clink as Nevina finished kicking at the corpse. I didn't open my eyes. I was too scared too... I didn't want to look at the things dying in front of us...

"Angevale," I heard Vincent's voice and his hands on my shoulders. I couldn't open my eyes or stop crying. He squeezed my shoulders as I kept crying. "Angevale look at me," I whimpered, crying from the horror that occurred. I felt him pull me closer as I cried.

"Eh you lot?" Nevina's voice stated quietly. Her hand touched my shoulder and I turned my head, opening my eyes to look at her. She still looked pale from Hojo's poisonous pus but I knew she was alright since I had healed her. "This wis in Hojo's pocket." She showed me a silvery orb that glowed softly against her face. Whimpering I reached out for my Materia that I had forceably been parted from. Holding it by the chain I felt my body grow weaker from exhaustion of crying. "Listen, I telt the others I'd look after the people evacuating fae here, I'll get tae that, right?"

"Will you be alright?" Tifa asked. I closed my eyes and felt Vincent's arms go tighter to keep me up.

"Aye, I may no look it but I can fight," Nevina replied. "Hope ye lot beat the shit oot a Sephiroth." She ran down the steps and Cloud's own stepped towards the controls. He was pressing buttons for a few moments. I was breathing heavily and shakily onto Vincent's chest.

"... That's the Sister Ray deactivated," Cloud informed us. He spoke to his PHS next. "Cid, we're done here... yeah, we'll wait at the controls... Hojo's dead, yeah... we'll explain when we're out of Midgar..."

* * *

"So is this it for Shinra?" Omen was asking when we entered the bridge. I was looking at the ground, sticking close to Vincent. One of my hands held onto his cloak. "I mean, the Executives are dead, Rufus is dead, the only people left are the Turks."

"Meteor will fall in about seven days..." Nanaki stated. Christie stared out to the sky, at Meteor, with a small frown and crossed arms.

"Seven days..." She muttered. "And the whole world will die..." She walked towards me, slowing down when she was in front of me. I was crying again. "Seven days... it could be longer if we stopped it..." I didn't look up from the ground. I only sobbed quietly. "... Angie?" I cried more and she stepped forward. I knew she wasn't looking at me, but at Vincent. After a few moments she hugged me as I cried.

What I had seen... what happened to me... something that I'd rather forget that was forever burned into my memory...


	78. Omen's Reason

Omen's Reason

Medeoheim. Snow everywhere. I sat in it, holding off the blizzard that circled around me. I kept my eyes closed. I had no idea what to think at the moment. After seeing Angie in hysterics that not even Vincent could calm I became a little frazzled.

Cloud told us to find a reason to fight. It's strange because you always think you have a reason but when people ask you you take about twenty minutes to come up with an answer. I know my reasons for fighting... but now my reason wanted me to stay away from her.

Ghost, my sister, my twin sister, my little sister. It was horrible what happened back then... what Charles did. What those Demons did.

I lay on my back in the cold snow, finding it comforting in a way. I looked up to the sky, a hand over my brooch. It was the symbol of those in the Sect of Death. I was part of Oblivion's Sect. My parents were a part of Alice Marie's Sect.

The Sect were Death's body guards, the ones that Death trusted the most. We carried out the most dangerous and secret tasks for our Lord or Lady. Oblivion had chosen Ghost and myself for his Sect long before he became Death himself. There weren't a lot of people in Oblivion's Sect. Me, my sister, Elijah... Charles... a few others from other Phantom families that I forget about, but Oblivion disbanded his Sect after Vatica burned to the ground. Only Ghost and I remained part of the Sect... at least Oblivion said he'd return her brooch to her.

Sighing I turned onto my side, tracing my hand over the snow slowly. I couldn't get the memory out my head. The horrible burning... my friends dying either by fire, smoke or Demonic weapons. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relive the memory...

* * *

_I ran through the halls of Charles' manor, up the stairs and avoiding his guards. I ducked under an arrow from a Demon outside and fired an icicle at them, getting them right in the chest. I continued climbing up the stairs, opening doors and looking inside the rooms._

"_C'mon, c'mon where are you?" I growled. Behind me Mark grabbed my shoulder and I turned around, my fans out._

"_Omen she's not here," He said. I pulled away from him and walked quickly down the hall. "At least not in this wing of the manor, let's go to the East wing."_

"_No I know she's here," I told him, looking at the doors. "His room is here, so she must be in there." It made me sick thinking about what Ghost could possibly see in such a creep!_

"_Fine, I'll look in the East wing then," Mark then ran off down the stairs as I continued through the West wing. I tried to open every door and broke down the locked ones. Eventually I came to a locked door with a bit of light coming out from underneath it. I put my ear to the wall, hearing familiar humming._

"_Ghost?" I asked loudly, jumping when a flaming arrow broke a nearby window and setting the wall on fire. I doused it quickly with my ice._

"_Omen is that you?" Was my sister's reply. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Unlock the door," I told her, ignoring her question._

"_Charles locked it from the outside, why?" Growling I let ice form on my hands._

"_Get away from the door!" I heard her back away as I froze the door completely, kicking it and breaking it apart. Ghost looked at me with confusion. I gave her her sai knives and pulled her out the room. "We have to go! They're burning down Vatica!"_

"_Who's burning down Vatica?" Ghost asked, her tone turning serious and we ran out of the manor. A Demon tried to ambush us and I stabbed him in the eye with my fan. The two of us ran down the stairs of the foyer and I charged at the doors, opening them and gasping at the sight._

_It was so much worse than before... buildings burning and smoke rising up to a red and black sky. The ground ablaze and people screaming in pain and agony as we all tried to fight off the Demons attacking._

"_Why would they do this?" Ghost gasped, surprised and angry at the same time. "I thought Demons didn't care about Phantoms... I thought they couldn't get in?"_

"_Someone let them in..." I growled. I had a good idea who._

"_Wait! Mum and Dad!" Ghost exclaimed._

"_They're fine, they evacuated to the outskirts with some others," I reassured her. "We have to get to Oblivion, c'mon." We jumped over the gates of Charles' gates and attacked several Demons. I blasted ice at fire and froze it along with Demons._

_One of the larger Demons ran at me and I ducked,stabbing his kneecaps and freezing his body, kicking his body and shattering it into blood and ice._

_Before I knew it a felt an arrow shoot me in the back of the neck and I collapsed. I could feel hands all over me and carry me away. I then felt water drench me and the people carrying me, and Mark pulling the arrow out my neck._

"_We've gotta go! Vatica's done for!" He yelled, pulling me up and dragging me away. I squinted as I could see Demons carrying someone away._

_No... no that can't be... no... no! No! Not Ghost!_

"_No! We have to get Ghost!" I cried, struggling against Mark's grip._

"_You can't they'll kill you!" He argued._

"_I don't care as long as Ghost is safe!" I yelled, struggling more as the distance between us gained. "Ghost! Leave her alone! Leave her alone!"_

"_Omen we've got to go!" Mark then pulled me through the city and to the outskirts. I cried my eyes out then. At that moment I had lost my sister and was afraid I'd never see her again._

* * *

I wiped my eyes and lay on my back again. After that day I began accusing Charles of leaving Ghost in the hands on the Demons, as his gates were open and she was in a room on her own. That and a lot of Demons were heading for his manor. He discarded my accusations. Said it was post-traumatic stress and grief for the loss of my sister and the need to blame someone. They believed _him_. My parents said it was because I was grieving the loss of Ghost, everyone was grieving. I kept saying that Charles should be grieving too, as Ghost was his girlfriend. He then said they broke up. What did that matter!? I hated him so much. I wanted to kill him.

Then Oblivion came to me; invited me to the Sect Hall. Charles was there. So was Elijah. Oblivion disbanded the Sect that day. We all returned our brooches. Charles and Elijah were indifferent to this.

I would have left crying my eyes out if Oblivion didn't tell me to stay. He comforted me, telling me that he'd find Ghost...

* * *

"_Omen, would you care to stay?" I turned around as Omen approached me, shutting the large stone doors to stop me from glaring daggers into Charles' back. "Omen, I understand you are grieving but please concentrate and listen to my orders."_

"_How can I concentrate when the bastard who sent the Demons into my home is still running around with a cocky grin on his face?" I scowled at the door, clenching my fists. "He burned down Vatica!"_

"_Do you have proof?" Oblivion asked, staring at me with serious, gold eyes._

"_... No..." I grumbled, looking down. Oblivion walked away and faced the fire, putting his hand on the mantle piece._

"_I understand your grief, Omen, and I do believe that Charles is the one who burned down Vatica," He told me, staring into the fire. "I trust my suspicion, as should you. He may place the residents of... of Vactica under his influence, but he knows that both you and I know the truth."_

"_Sir, how do you know?" I asked, looking at Oblivion. "If you know? Why can't you inform the Superiors? Why can't you tell them the truth?"_

"_We have no proof, as I stated earlier," Oblivion took a poker and prodding the fire. "And he has the others believing his every word as there is no proof against him. His perfect crime..." Sighing, Death placed the poker near the fire and paced, hands behind his back. "I may be Death but without proof they will not believe. Faith and trust are not acquired by name alone. You know that as well as I do, Omen. You may be a Confleo but as you have no proof to the crime they can easily blame it on stress and grief." He looked at me with calm eyes before heading the the large table and placing his hand on one of the brooches and focusing on it._

"_... Okay what was the real reason you broke up your Sect?" I aske,d catching on. Oblivion smiled, chuckling to himself._

"_You catch on quickly, should your sister be here she would know the same," He told me, holding up a brooch and inspecting it in the light creeping through a half open window. "Charles is a traitor who is not yet to die. Elijah is a Seraphim who's duties intervine with those of the Sect. Sandra, Henry, Bartholomew, Mary, Helena and Jeremy... none I can trust as much as I trust you and Ghost," He waled towards me, holding out the brooch to me. With confusion, I took it, looking at him. "You will find your sister. Should you remain part of the Sect, that is."_

"_... Sir, what are you meaning?" I asked him, completely confused._

"_What I mean is that my Sect will now remain secret," He informed me. "You need no orders, but you must search for your sister, you must," I nodded, holding my brooch tighter. "Should I find her, I will give her her brooch, I believe she left it at home before heading to Charles'," She did. I saw her taking it off for some reason or another. "Hopefully it will remain in tact, I will go, I fear sending you back to your home will cause more grief. Losing family is enough and I'd rather not see you in more pain, Omen," He put a hand on my shoulder, looking at me with a smile. "Get rest, you're task will be difficult but rewarding. That I can promise you."_

_He said that with such confidence. Confidence that I took into my stride. I believed that if I kept that confidence and the thought of reward kept me going._

* * *

It had been fifty years since that day. Fifty years, seven months and twenty-four days since then. I searched all over Utopia, faught countless Demons I thought were in league with Charles. I got so close to the Dementia Labs... I almost died trying to get in. I never got in. A man pulled me away, saying that I would die if I got in there. There were Demons beyond my power that would kill me in a second.

I tried to hard to get in there. Coming back when I gained strength. Failing everytime. Ten years ago Oblivion came to me, telling me to go to Gaia. I met Cid and Shera and lived with them. For three years I followed leads and felt as though I was getting so close to finding Ghost... until they suddenly stopped dead.

After that, I confessed the truth to Cid and Shera. Told them what I was, what I did. My real age, heck even my homosexuality for some reason or another. I told them about Oblivion, Ghost, Vatica. And they accepted it. Granted they were confused for a while, but they didn't get mad or angry. Cid swore a little more than usual but accepted it, saying that he could always look at me and feel young, even when he was an old codger. However when Oblivion came to visit that day... I had to explain the whole thing over because Cid was still getting confused. I still don't think he gets it but I don't mind.

I sighed to myself, wiping my eyes and watching as the blizzard around me calmed. I was always told that everything happens for a reason. There's a reason I'm here. There's a reason for me fighting. That reason has always been to find Ghost, to bring her home. To make sure Charles paid for what he did. He handed Ghost over to the Demons on a silver platter. Why I don't know. But I'd find out even if it killed me.


	79. Christie's Reason

Christie's Reason

"_Where are you heading?"_

"_Kalm. Doubt Nevina'll be able to look after all those evacuees by herself."_

"_... Okay."_

I acted uncaring to that goodbye. Now I'm confused as to why I was like that. I felt a little bad for it. And now that Cloud told us to go find our reasons for fighting, I just had to see him. A part of me still didn't want to, but it felt right to.

I went to Kalm, leaving a hysteric Angie behind. They didn't tell me what was seen up there. I suppose the horror was too much. Still I had never seen Angie so traumatised in all the time I've known her.

Walking up the stairs I went to the end of the hall and stood in front of it. Wasn't this the room we booked just after leaving Midgar? Shaking my head I knocked on the door, waiting for a response. After a few moments it opened and Elena stood there, staring at me blankly. She wasn't happy I could tell.

"... Elena," I nodded sternly, showing no emotion in my voice. Crossing her arms Elena narrowed her eyes. I raised my voice a little so everyone inside the room could hear me. "Listen, I don't want to waste time just let me see Reno." Before Elena opened her mouth the red head I wanted to see sat up on his bed.

"Elena c'mon let her in, not like she'll annoy us... much," With the two of us scoffing, Elena stood out of the way and I walked awkwardly into the room. I looked around the room, four Turks stayed in here. Elena, Reno, Rude and their leader Tseng, who looked horribly beat up. I suppose he was still recovering from his attack at the Temple.

The atmosphere was awkward. I stood in the middle of the room, staring at the wall in front of me, Elena stood at the door, Reno lay on the bed, Rude was against the wall to my right and Tseng was on his own bed. The silence remained for a good couple of minutes before Reno turned to Rude. The two looked at one another before the bald man nodded, pushing himself off the wall.

"Let's go," He ordered, helping Tseng up. The blonde girl looked at him shocked, pointing at me.

"What about her? Won't she try anything?"

"Relax, I know how to subdue her," Reno reassured her, making me scoff. I waited until the other Turks had left, Elena closing the door unsurely. We may have agreed not to bother each other but that didn't mean there was any foundation of trust. I knew that. I learned it the hard way.

I walked over to Reno's bed and sat on it, facing the window and staring out of it. The place was so overpopulated with Midgar citizens and people from Kalm running about the streets helping them. The sky was nearly black with the night, only the bright glow of Meteor ruining the sky. I sighed, choosing my words carefully. I had to find a reason to fight. But that was simple: I'm a hero and I want to save the Planet. But Cloud said that alone isn't enough to keep you going.

He was right. Seven years ago I was fighting to get home. When that failed five years ago I faught for answers as to why I was left behind. Now... I had no home, I had found my answers... yet saving the world had become second nature to me. Being a hero was second nature to me. I had always been a hero. That wasn't reason enough to fight though. But part of me... no _most_, if not all, of me wanted to fight.

"... Tomorrow I fight Sephiroth," I finally stated, still staring out the window. "And tomorrow, I could possibly die."

"... You're grim," Reno replied, looking out the window. "Eh, don't blame you, no one's been able to beat Sephiroth."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I remarked, crossing my legs on the bed. "Thing is, I have to have a reason to fight. You can't fight without a reason," Sighing I ran my hand through my hair. "I have no reason, but I want to fight."

"Well maybe you do have a reason but you just don't want to admit it," Reno grinned, poking me in the shoulder. "Ain't that why you're here?" I didn't look at him, remaining quiet. Reno then sighed and sat back down. "You know, you're difficult. You act like you hate me, then you're all affectionate, then you're indifferent to me. You have said you've always been like that though. Chris you've got issues, but you don't need me to tell you that I mean you know that."

"Gaaah stop talking you talk as much as Omen!" I exclaimed half-jokingly. He chuckled at it but then I sighed and his humour died down. I looked at him seriously, my face plain and honest. "... I'm scared... I'm afraid of dying. I've always been scared of drying. It doesn't matter if I died once, I'm still scared. I've been a hero twice now... what if I die this time?" He didn't say anything, so I went on. "Sin was difficult because he was my first foe who could destroy the world, but I beat him. Vegnagun was easier because I was stronger and knew what I was doing to fight him. Sephiroth... even if he beat him, Meteor could still hit. Meteor could still kill everyone even if Sephiroth is defeated. That man is nearly indestructible, even now he's absorbing Lifestream and getting stronger and stronger. He may become impossible to defeat." I looked down at the bed, gripping a little at the duvet. Reno lowered his head, looking at me with his big eyes. I looked away from him, sighing.

"Chris... listen to me, okay?" He began. "You are the strongest and probably the scariest woman I've ever met. All those stories you've told me you've been anything but unafraid," He rubbed the back of his head, still looking at me. "Chris... Christie... if you want a reason to fight..." He stumbled a bit over his words before taking hold of my shoulders and bringing me close to him. "Fuck I was never good with things like this..." He mumbled. I kept quiet as he held me tighter. "Chris... I really don't know what to tell you... if you wanna fight, that's fine, if you don't... I'm sure they'll understand..." He was confusing himself now, he was getting frustrated as he spoke. "Dammit Christie I wanna be your reason. I wanna be the reason you fight!" I sighed quietly when he said that, confused at why he wa! saying that. I thought he only found me attractive, nothing beyond that...

I pulled a little away from him and looked at his face. He looked completely serious. I still didn't get it, does this mean he liked me? I... wasn't sure myself.

He moved closer to me and attempt to kiss me. I turned away and he stopped, not moving away though.

"I... I can't..." I mumbled, not looking at him. "I can't be with an enemy..." We remained silent for a few moments before he touched my cheek and gently made me face him.

"I'm not your enemy then," He then kissed me deeply. Although I felt confused on the inside, I kissed back, closing my eyes as I felt his hands go around me and pull me down onto the bed.

* * *

I opened my eyes, squinting when I could see the sun rising slowly. I sighed, lifting my head off Reno's chest and sitting up on the bed, covering up my body with the duvet. My mind went totally blank from last night... what I did. I mean it was good and all, but I still felt like I had to mull over it a little longer.

With another sigh I realised I had no time to mull it over. I just wanted to waste time. Just wanted to be there a little longer. If I did then we may very well die. If I didn't... would that mean I'd have more time to be like this?

I dressed myself, still thinking about what happened, what I'd do. As I fixed my belt and half-skirt I turned to Reno, who was still sleeping soundly, an arm over his bare chest, the duvet over his lower half which was just as bare.

I felt my lips lift and smile at him. He did look cute like that. Quietly I walked over to him and placed a small kiss on his cheek, being careful not to wake him. I didn't want to say goodbye.

"... Wait for me," I whispered into his ear, hoping on some level he'd hear it. I quickly went to the other side of the bed and grabbed my Dual Hounds, which had been tossed and clattered against the ground last night since there was no need for them. I carefully slipped out of the door, making sure not to wake Reno, or any of the Turks. I made my way down and out of the inn, hoping that the Highwind was still there.

My reason to fight. I had it. Reno wanted to be my reason, and he is. I want to be like that with him. It won't matter anymore when Sephiroth's gone. It won't matter that we used to be on opposing sides. After Sephiroth was gone, none of it would matter.

"Christie?" I stopped quickly, hearing Angie's voice. Turning I seen her standing with Nevina, both looking at me. I stood straighter and stiffer. Angie walked towards me with sad eyes.


	80. Angevale's Reason

Angevale's Reason

Once again I stood in front of my mother's grave silently. Tears were dripping from my eyes still from the horrible sight I had seen. All I could see everytime I closed my eyes was Hojo, and that monster ripping his body apart as he turned... into that thing.

I wiped my eyes, feeling myself cry harder. I was horribly scarring and a terrifying vision for me. It made me think if... if Jenova Cells could do that to a human... what could it do to Sephiroth? To Cloud? To me?

I focused on staring at the grave of my mother. She wasn't in my life much, at the least she raised my until I was five or six, then she handed me over to Fina and Oblivion. I feel like they are my real parents sometimes as they raised me. Raised with Vincent, Hojo and Lucrecia as well.

When Vincent turned into Chaos... I didn't know it was him at first... he probably thinks I was afraid. I was afraid of Hojo, not him. I was... more surprised than anything. I wasn't scared of Vincent. I could never be afraid of him.

Looking up at the sky I bit at my lip. My family was dead. I had none. Oblivion was gone, I had no idea where... Fina was dead, circling the Lifestream... I had a feeling she and my mother hadn't moved on to join it... I was scared that I'd lose Oblivion. He was already risking himself to save me. I don't want him to die. I didn't know when he'd die... but I'm sure he'd tell me if he was.

I sat in front of my mother's grave, looking at the enscription. I still didn't know what to make of my brother and his existence. Hojo told me of his existence, and if what he said was true at the Shinra building then my brother must have tried to kill Hojo too. Then all that talk of Loveless. Now that I realised Minerva was the Goddess I cared very little for the stories. She would never bring anyone to Paradise. She's the one who killed my family. My mother, my father, Fina... and if she could Obilivion and myself and possibly my brother.

I still couldn't really believe that my brother was real. I knew he did exist at one time, but was he alive? Where was he? What did he do in his life? I knew his name once... I don't remember it... I tried so hard to remember it.

Eventually I just gave up, holding the Silver Materia in my hand, the metal hoops around it gone and the chain off. It glowed softly and I tossed it up and down in my hand. If what was in Fina's journal was true then this would be the instrument of the Superiors' destruction. The reason they were scared of me was in my hand. The Calixto Orb would make me the strongest God, stronger than Minvera, than Atrum Unus. I would be stronger than Sephiroth easily. I would be able to fight him without being afraid of dying.

That is, if I can find a reason to fight.

But it was easy. I knew what I was fighting for. I wanted a family. My family was scattered and broken. The only real family I had was Oblivion, Christie and Vincent. I really hoped that they would stay with me forever. But I don't know when they'll die. They could die tomorrow, or a week from now for all I know. And that scared me. I didn't want to lose what little family I had left.

Looking up again I gripped the Calixto Orb tightly, feeling a pulsating pain in my back. Gritting my teeth I felt the alien sensation of wings ripping apart my skin and top. I looked at them, surprised and in pain. The Superiors had ripped out the metal wings I used to have so long ago. Now my wings were different. Golden and bright like the sun, but stained with my blood in places. They looked so beautiful.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around myself. My reason to fight was family. I would make sure Oblivion would live and everything would be okay. Everything would go back to normal. Maybe Vincent would stay as well. Maybe... I wanted him to...

I could remember the first time I went to Kalm. The bar that Nevina worked in... she was shocked to see me. I never was able to ask her why. Maybe... there was a chance she had answers. There was a reason to me meeting her, why she was taken by Shinra, why she faught Hojo with us... I would ask her and hopefully learn what I wanted to know.


	81. Whisper

Whisper

I walked through the streets of Kalm, my wings now retracted into my back. It was still quite dark as I tried to remember the route I took so long ago. Eventually I found my way and as I got closer I could hear yelling, both male and female.

"Aye ye know wit? Feck ye ya fuckin' fanny!" The now familiar voice of Nevina yelled at the man I vaguely remembered seeing in the bar when I had went there.

"Nevi ye've always been fuckin' around and not workin'," He yelled back. Nevina walked up to him, pointing her finger at him.

"Aye and I've been the one covering up when George wis in charge and ye were bangin' Mary in the back room!" She yelled a little louder. "Like I feckin' need ye tae be on my feckin' case all the time! I feckin' quit!"

"Fine!"

"Fine fanny baws!" Nevina turned her back and stormed off. She slowed down when she spotted me before coming to a halt. I walked towards her and she stared at me, her arms folded. "Angie."

"Nevina..." I nodded, looking behind her. "Job problems?"

"Aye, I mean it wis meant tae be a temporary job but I've been at it fer... fuck nearly six years," She told me. "Still, got enough money tae pay rent fer... well a good couple of months... but ye know, we might no last that long 'cause of Sephiorth."

"Unless someone stops him," I said.

"Aye but there's still Meteor," Nevina pointed out, indicating to the said threat above our heads. "I mean maybe that'll still take us all tae Hell."

"Maybe," I muttered, looking up at the Meteor. If Holy didn't stop it then I wasn't sure how it would be stopped. "If we should all die... then wouldn't it be best to tell the full story?" Nevina looked at me with a sad look in her eyes.

"... Okay, ask me anythin' an' I'll tell ye," She said, beginning to walk slowly. I followed her, walking by her side.

"Why were you so shocked when we first met?" I asked her to start things off.

"You look like him," Nevina replied, looking at me.

"Him?" I asked before answering my own question. "My brother..."

"Aye, he said ye had never met befare," Nevina nodded. "He wis determined tae find ye, I mean he only found out about yer existence when his mum died," Sighing, the girl wrapped her arms around herself. "He became kind of obsessed wi' it, finding ye." Obsession... runs in the family...

"Where is he?" I asked.

"I dunno... haven't seen him fer nearly seven months," She shrugged, starting to clutch at her necklace. "He went tae Banora, left me in Gongaga... never came back..."

"Why were you in Gongaga?"

"Because he telt me he wanted to spend one more night wi' me," Nevina had begun to slide her ring on and off her finger, fidgeting more as she spoke and getting more upset but not crying. "He said he'd come back an' I promised I'd wait."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I 'm the only person he could trust. I kept him hidden fae Shinra even though it made me their target. We had each other's backs," She mumbled as we walked down the quiet streets. "He wis really brave... I'm really glad I met 'im..."

"... What did he do?"

"He wis a Solider, 1st Class, he went rogue and faught against Shinra," Nevina explained, shuddering a little. "He hated... what he became... he wis dyin' and there wisnae any cure fer it. His hair, face, wing... turnin' white as anythin'."

"Degredation..." I mumbled, recalling the unpleasantness of it. "I suffered from it seven years ago."

"Feck..." Nevina covered her face for a moment before putting her hands on her hips. "You two are really alike..."

"Nevina," I stepped in front of her, staring her in the eye. "I understand this is hard but right now you're beating to much around the bush. This is my brother, my half-brother, so please tell me now where I can find him and what you know?" Standing still, Nevina remained quiet.

"... I dinnae know where Genesis is," She told me seriously. "I saw him in Gongaga last, he went tae Banora."

"All I found there was this," I pulled out the red blade and she stood in shock. It was obviously familiar to her. "The sword is identical to mine in craftsmanship."

"That's his..." She nodded as I put the blade back. "But I don't know where he is, he promised he'd come back when he'd found ye... he'll be so pissed aff when he sees I found ye first."

"How close were you to... to Genesis?" I asked, speaking my brother's name. How strange it felt.

"He... wis... is my fiancée," Nevina revealed, showing me the ring on her left ring finger. "He asked me tae before he left Gongaga, I said aye, I wanted him tae come back tae me," Hands on her hips again, she looked up at me. "I wis mad at ye fer takin' him away, I felt like he wanted tae find ye more than he loved me..."

"I'm sorry..." I told her.

"Yes never met, can't blame ye," She stated. "Still because of it... because I chose tae I lost everything. My best friend turned against me, she and Cissnei killed my da'..." Her best friend... where have I heard this before I wonder. "After Jade Weapon rose and attacked I never saw her again, I dinnae know where she is or wit's she daein'."

"Can I ask you... the power you used at... the Cannon..." i could feel my stomach turn at the thought. "How did you..."

"Oh, that," Nevina nodded in understand. "Well, the thing is... I'm no fully human, ye know? Got powers... fae my da's side of the family," She explained. "I'm no that strong or witever, but I try, I've used them tae defend mysel' fae Shinra and Turks who've trying tae capture me 'cause of wit I know 'bout Genesis," I nodded at her as she went on. "I'm a Whisperer, well 'alf of one anyway. No good wi' wit I have."

"A Whisperer?" I wasn't too familiar with that spieces. I knew they were very secretive and had abnormal psychic strengths.

"Aye, can only really use telekinesis," She shrugged. "No that great as my da' wis," Sighing she walked on with me following. "Cannae believe all of this really, I mean I didnae think I'd meet ye, I mean I had my doubts ye didn't even exist at time but..." She looked at me again, her eyes becoming sader with each moment. "Ye've got tae find him... I kjnow thewre's Sephiroth and Meteor but please... I jist want Genesis back..."

"... He was a 1st Class Soldier?" I asked. Nevina nodded in response. "... I'll ask him... I'll make Sephiroth tell me..." She looked at me, then her eyes drifted. "But... please tell me more about my brother... when I get back."

"Aye but... sort things out wi' her first," She pointed and I turned to see Christie walking through the street quickly. She hadn't noticed us yet. "I keep feeling conflict between the two of ye, even if ye're friends there's still the pain from wit's happened." She was right. Both of us were upset after everything that's happened.

"Christie?" I asked. She stopped and looked at the two of us. Breathing deeply I walked towards her. Once I was in front of her I spoke. "Christie... you've been my best friend for seven years and I haven't treated you like one until recently. You've been patient, I've tried it too much and haven't given you straight answers... I didn't want to bring you into this but I did because... I have never met anyone like you and I... have always seen you as an older sister," She looked at me as I spoke, giving me her full attention. "What I'm trying to say is... Christie I am so sorry for... everything... I promise you, once this is all over... I'll find a way to take you home. I'll find Grace and Lysander, I'll take you all home. I promise..." I could feel my eyes watering so I blinked. "I'm sorry Christie, and I'll understand if you never forgive me..." I hugged her tightly, trying not to cry. I felt her slowly hug me back, shaking her head.

"I'm home... they'll be okay, we'll see them one day... and I forgive you," She told me. "After this is all over... we'll be okay. It'll be okay."

* * *

And this concludes the Assault Arc. Now we're on the Finale Arc, now Avalanche is prepared to destroy Sephiroth and Meteor once and for all before it's too late.


	82. Down To Hell

Down To Hell

"Vincent?" Angie exclaimed, running to the cloaked man and hugging him tightly. The man looked confused but hugged back awkwardly. Everyone was on the bridge, keeping silent. I was actually surprised everyone had come back. Maybe they had accepted their fate. I walked over to Omen, who was at the controls and stood beside him. From the corner of my eye I saw him grinning stupidly. Before I could ask him what he was so happy about he told me.

"You got laid," He told me in a sing-song sort of voice. Looking at him I glared at him.

"Oh shut up and wank yourself," I grumbled. Omen just grinned.

"About time you did," He went on. "So is he good? How big is he? Was it safe?" I smacked him in the back of the head and he laughed. "Okay, okay, tell me later."

"Piss off," I told him.

"Hey we need him to get us to the Crater!" Cid told me, so I moved away from the controls, heading to my usual spot where I looked out of the window, next to Cloud. I turned to him.

"There's no turning back once we get there," I said. He nodded. "Everyone came back. We all found a reason. We're all prepared to fight Sephiroth, even if we die in the process."

"If we do die, we'll just go a few days earlier than everyone else," The blonde told me stiffly. "But Sephiroth is waiting, and if we don't act he'll get stronger, and Meteor will make him stronger."

"What if we can't stop Meteor?" I asked. "Sephiroth may be killed but that thing has been summoned by Black Materia. How are we going to fight that?"

"... I don't know... we'll have to hope that once Sephiroth goes, Meteor will go with him," Cloud told me. Nodding I looked out the window, seeing the ground below grow smaller as Omen began to fly the ship towards the Crater.

"So we're pretty much damned if we do, damned if we don't..." I said to myself. "That thing will kill us and we can't stop it. There is no way we can stop Meteor."

"There's Holy," Angie walked up to me and stared out the window, at the clouds. "Holy could stop it."

"You don't think so," I pointed out. "And if Holy won't work you think that something else will stop it, don't you?"

"... I've got a plan, don't worry," She smiled. "Don't worry Christie, I'll stop it." There was a sudden jolt in the Airship and we all fell forwards.

"What's going on!?" Christie yelled.

"Looks like Sephiroth isn't too happy about us dropping by!" Omen was trying to regain control with Cid's help. Everyone was grabbing onto something as we dipped down, diving towards the Crater.

"Well this is great! Dying before we fight the asshole!" Yuffie yelled.

"We won't die!" I yelled back. I used my Magnetism to pull back on the Highwind's metal body, slowing it down before we crashed against the Crater. Lifestream shot up and barely missed us. I had to loosen my hold to keep us alive before we crashed inside the Crater, flinging us all forwards and I crashed against the glass.

* * *

After ten minutes of darkness I woke up, glass embedded in my arms and head. Struggling up I felt blood coming from my ears as I seen the world spin around me.

"Who's not dead?" I called out. I heard several groans as well as everyone coming into sight. Omen and Cid crawled out from behind the controls, and a few of the others were pushing scraps of metal off themselves.

I begun to pull out the glass in my arms and the bit in my forehead, groaning a bit and healing myself.

"What the Hell?" Omen looked down to see a deep, black hole with only a small glimmer of light at the bottom.

"That's where we want to be," I said. "Now I'm willing to jump if everyone else is."

"Very funny," Angie commented.

"I'm being serious."

"I know," The red head drew her sword and stabbed at the ground, revealing it to be thinner than the ground we stood on. She broke it open so it was big enough to get through with ease. Putting her sword back she dropped down the hole. Knowing what she was doing we all followed down the hole. Angie kept the way light with a fireball, taking the lead.

"What ever happened to the Weapons?" Tifa asked.

"Hopefully they weakened Sephiroth," Omen commented from the back. "And I really hope they took out only of those suicidal freaks too."

"Now's not the time for jokes," I called at him.

"Well if that's the case, if we do die," Even though he was behind me I could sense the grin. "Cloud I love you!" I couldn't hold back a laugh as the blonde in front of me groaned in annoyance, then we all laughed at his reply.

"Yes Omen, I love you too," The albino man let out a girly squeal which made us all laugh. Thankfully he didn't run to Cloud and kiss him, but that would have been a great memory, especially if it would be one of our last ones.


	83. Jenova Unmasked

Jenova Unmasked

"Watch out!" Christie pulled me back as a needle of Lifestream shot up from the ground underneath me. It shot towards me and I quickly pulled out my sword and slashed it, making it rear back and fall back down into the depths. I kept my sword out, standing up and looking down at the Lifestream below.

"Why does it keep doing that?" Yuffie whined. "That's the eleventh time now!"

"At least it's not coming for you," I told her, walking onwards, watching the Lifestream carefully. "It's me she wants..."

"She?" Christie asked, walking beside me.

"The murderer of my family, Christie," I told her. "Minerva. She's clearly going for the more hands on approach. Killing me before I reach Sephiroth."

"She really wants you dead," Omen mumbled.

"Yeah, but I'll make sure she dies long before I do," I growled. She just wanted me to die. I wasn't going to give her the pleasure.

"How much longer until we reach the bottom?" Cid asked.

"A while," I replied, walking faster. It was as though fatigue did not affect any of us as we descended deeper. Several more streams of Lifestream shot at me on the way down but were easily taken care of.

As we went down I could see Christie's hands shaking out of nerves, just as she did seven years ago when we were heading to fight Sin. I was more scared about my plan to stop Meteor. I wasn't even sure if it'd work but I would try anyway.

We broke open a hole and climbed down a small ledge to the core of Gaia. Below us was the Lifestream. It shot up and I reacted by attacking the stem of it, causing it to rear back.

"Fuck off Minerva!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the place. Cloud, Christie and Tifa crouched down, examining the hole.

"He's down there... I can feel it," Cloud mumbled, standing up. He turned to us all. "This is it, this is where we kill Sephiroth. We'll free Holy and Meteor will be destroyed. Sephiroth will be gone for good." We all nodded before a strong jet of Lifestream rose and created a roof above us.

"Angie..." Christie mumbled to me, activating her Dual Hounds. "Run."

"What?"

"Just run, we'll meet you down there." Nodding I leapt down the hole, hearing warfare going on above me. I ran down the path, avoiding Minerva's needles of Lifestream attempting to kill me.

Leaping over a gap I tumbled and stabbed the Lifestream before it pierced me. Breathing heavily as I noticed everyone dropping down beside me.

"She stop?" I asked.

"Yeah, followed you," Omen replied, breathing heavily. A distance away from us we spotted a tentacle, which cause me to gag, Vincent gripping my shoulder and going in front of me, his gun out and aimed. I peeked around, seeing a thing rise up from the Lifestream. A huge monster of a thing, more decent looking than Hojo, coming towards us, bearing the face of Jenova.

"What the Hell is that!?" Christie yelled.

"Jenova..." I mumbled in shock. It let out a horrific screech and immediantly I ran infront of Vincent and jumped up, slicing off one of it's tentacles.

Cloud ran and hacked the thing in the chest, leaving a gaping hole for Vincent and Barret to shoot into. Cid and Omen were attacking from behind, Tifa and Christie beating it from all angles.

Jenova used her good tentacle to grab Nanaki as he was leaping towards her and tossed him into Cait Sith. I rolled underneath Jenova and set her a light, burning her to a crisp.

Christie let out a large blast of Aura, encompassing Jenova and compressing her, blood oozing out of broken flesh as Christie's ears began to bleed. Cloud and I used out swords to impale it from behind, Omen freezing up the wounds of Jenova before breaking it up, shards of ice seeping into Jenova's body.

Vincent and Barret shot a continuous stream of bullets into Jenova. The alien mass dropped onto the ground, slumped and dissolving into a black ooze. Not wanting to be touched by it we all ran form it, standing at the other end of the platform we battled on.

"... And that's not even Sephiroth..." It was true, during the battle we had suffered severe injuries from Jenova's attacks. They were so painful.

As we healed one another, I heard a faint voice. Turning around I surveyed the area. Nothing. I continued to heal the others before hearing a second voice. Looking around I couldn't see anyone.

"Angevale?" Vincent asked me.

"Be quiet..." I mumbled. Soon after everyone fell silent. There was a third voice, younger than the first two voices.

That third voice caused the ground below us to shattered and vanish, making us fall into nothingness.

* * *

"_Christie Wilson. Yours?"_

"_Lysander Adams... Yeah, stupid name, I know. Dunno why I was named that, I'm Austrailian for cryin' out loud!"_

"... Did anyone else just hear that?" Christie asked, dumbfounded.

"Did anyone else _see_ that?" Omen asked. "You haven't changed a bit, Chris, well you look more mature."

"_No! You can't die! You can't!" _Omen's voice cried out from the blackness. A fair distance away our Omen was crouched over, gripped his chest.

"It hurts... it hurts so much!" He was... crying? Why was he crying?

"_No I can't do this... I can't do this..." _That was Christie crying now. Why? She sounded in extreme pain. The next thing that happened was Christie grabbing her stomach and screaming loudly.

"What the fuck is happening to us!?" It was true, either everyone around us was crying or in some sort of extreme pain that was unexplainable.

"_Oblivion... make it stop..."_ That was... me. I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach and I fell to my knees, coughing and spluttering, feeling blood drip from my eyes, ears and nose. I coughed again, blood spilling out of my mouth.

"_Can you predict the future?"_ Christie's voice echoed. _"Is she going to die?"_

"_Omen I don't need a big brother I'm not a stupid kid!" _That must have been... Ghost. But why was she yelling at him. _"Maybe I'm meant to be evil..."_

"_Hit me! Just do it now! It doesn't matter if I die!" _Lysander...?

"_Oh my God... what have I done...? What have I done?"_ Grace... crying.

"_Well no good deed goes unpunished, after all. I mean, save the world, lose your love..."_ That voice I didn't recognise.

"_What have you done!? You bitch! You total bitch!" _That was Nevina's voice... angry but crying.

"_He would have died anyway."_

"_But you killing him... I thought we were friends!? You're a cow and a bitch! I hate you Marrisa!"_ Marrisa... who was that?

"_You... you're a liar..." _I didn't recognise that voice either.

"_Oblivion, I can't just disband them, where will they go? You know for some of us this was all we had!"_

"_So you'd rather die than change the world?"_ It was Oblivion, talking to someone different. Who I didn't know. _"I'm sorry for asking, but you have to, otherwise more will die."_

"_Look after my son..."_

"_Don't cry, Vion... Oblivion... I'm at peace now..." _That... Alice Marie? I coughed up more blood, suffering immense pain.

"_Fina you can't die! You can't die!"_

"_Look after my daughter... she's in too much danger being with me... I can't protect her... I can't be called her mother..." _My... mother?

"Make it stop! Someone make it stop!" Omen cried out. "My heart's going to rip out!"

"I can't handle this..." Christie cried. I couldn't say anything. I kept coughing up blood. Within a few more agonising minutes, I couldn't stay awake... I felt as though I was dying...


	84. Seraph Sephiroth

Seraph Sephiroth

Coughing, I felt my hands shaking as I lay on what seemed to be a glass platform, completely invisible to us. Around us was a sort of heaven like space. Clouds twisted in circles around us, in a blueish-purple sky.

I stood up, wiping blood off my face expect... there was none... I looked down at Christie, who was standing up wearily. I helped her up as well as the others. We all just stood around, looking confused. We had no idea what was going on, or where we were.

"Okay, someone please tell me that was some fucked up dream?" Cid asked. "Seriously I kept seeing things that happened and things that haven't happened."

"Same here..." Tifa nodded. "And felt it too... all the pain and happiness from the past."

"I saw... the past as well..." Cloud nodded, clearly affected by what he had seen.

"So... that was our past and future?" Christie concluded. "What the fuck? Why is my future so painful?"

"Did anyone else see events that had nothing to do with them?" I spoke up. Everyone remained quiet, but I knew their silence was a yes.

"Yeah, I saw stuff involving Omen," Cid answered eventually.

"I saw Lysander... and Grace..." Christie answered as well.

"... Barret... and Cloud..." Tifa added.

"My Grandfather," Nanaki spoke.

"... Oblivion... Nevina... and so many others..." I muttered.

"It must have something to do with the Connections..." Christie theorised. "I mean... Connections don't just Connect two people. They Connect everyone... that's their purpose. A Connection and a Guardian's purpose is much greater than expected." She was right. She was so right.

"Wait a minute... where's Sephiroth?" Cloud asked suddenly. We all began to search frantically in the endless space, seeing nothing.

Seeing nothing... but hearing... a choir... a faint choir... the noise came from behind us. Slowly we turned around to see something rise up from the clouds. A being white six gorgeous white wings, a golden halo and long, white hair as beautiful as its wings. The man's right arm was replaced by a wing as black as night, and his cat like eyes pierced through us.

"Found him..." Omen took out his fans and backed away.

"What... happened to him?" Tifa stammered. Sephiroth raised his right hand, a black cloud appearing and growing larger. The black smoke then was blasted at us, forcing us back several feet and I felt my neck bend awkwardly as I tumbled backwards. Christie wasn't thrown as far back as I was, a yellow glow coming from the pouch on her belt. She pulled herself up and the glow transferred from her Materia pouch to her right hand, the black smoke reappearing there. She returned the favour to Sephiroth, who was knocked back ever so slightly.

Cloud took the opportunity to leap up and drive his sword into one of the white wings, barely even scratching them. Barret was wildly shooting at Sephiroth, who was blocking with his Magick. Nanaki leapt up, biting at the root on the wings. Sephiroth however grabbed him and tossed him down to the ground.

In anger I flicked a flame in my hand and tossed at Sephiroth who easily deflected my fireball quickly, lifting up a wing and knocked me backwards. I coughed and noticed blood seeping from a sudden wound in my stomach. I looked up at Sephiroth who flew up high and out of range of any of our weapons.

Christie held her hand over my stomach and healed it. We all looked at Sephiroth who blasted another black cloud at us. Cloud leapt up and sliced through it, hacking at Sephiroth wildly. I leapt up and attacked too as Tifa gripped a wing and ripped out a few feathers. Vincent's body pulsed and Chaos took over, clawing brutally at Sephiroth as the man attacked back with brute force, our own blood dripping everywhere, never Sephiroth's.

Omen froze a massive ice wall in front of Sephiroth to stop him from getting closer to us as he hurriedly healed everyone to a certain degree, as Sephiroth was quickly breaking through the ice.

"Ahhh... ahhh... screwed. So screwed..." Omen whimpered, curling up a little as he stared up at the corrupted Angel. Yuffie cracked her shoulder back into place, crying a little. Tifa had bloody feathers sticking to her, Cid was drenched in his blood, Barret's Gun Arm was about to break apart, Vincent was no longer Chaos due to a black cloud hitting him dead on in the chest and formed a gaping hole there, Nanaki's back leg was broken and Cait Sith was about to break down. Christie's arm blades were withdraw, as she felt as though they were going to rip off her body, replaced in favour of her blood stained Dual Hounds. Omen's fans were broken and his hair and face was covered in his Phantom blood, black bleeding from his lips and arms and neck. I was shaking all over, my hands up to my forearms in blood and blood staining my stomach and clothes.

"Sephiroth's too strong... we can't..." Cloud said in a defeatist tone. I tensed up as a firey sphere formed behind Sephiroth, growing larger and larger. Immediantly we all backed away from it slowly and once it had engulfed Sephiroth we began running full speed away.

We weren't fast enough... the fire caught up and it felt as though I was being ripped apart and burnt to cinders. We screamed from the sheer pain that lasted an enternity.

Opening my eyes once it was over I got to my feet, turning to see Sephiroth was still there. Still alive. Still completely immune to our assault...

"Angie..." Christie rubbed her bottom lip clean of blood, staring at the mutant Seraph. "What's Aura again?" Why? Is this really a good time to ask? "C'mon just tell me!" Startled by her outburst I took a few moments to collect myself.

"Aura... is part of... a person's Lifeforce... like the soul... strong Aura keeps a person alive for longer than others..." I stammered. Christie looked at Sephiroth then at me, smirking.

"Alright... hopefully I'll see you after this," Christie's body glowed golden and flickered like fire. She darted towards Sephiroth while we all yelled for her to stop.

"Christie what are you doing!?" I screamed, running after her but Omen and Vincent grabbed me and pulled me back as I screamed.

Christie ran closer to sephiroth, the golden glow becoming brighter as she leapt up and the radiant glow swallowed both Christie and Sephiroth. Sheilding my eyes I could hear a thump beside me. Slwoly I opened my eye to see Christie slumped on the ground, bleeding out. Out of fear and anger I looked at Sephiroth... he...

He was slumped on the ground, blood covered but I wasn't sure if it was his or Christie's. He was unable to move. I ran to Christie and crouched down behind him as Cloud advanced towards his enemy. He stared down at Sephiroth, who glared at him with dying, angry and wicked eyes. I turned back to Christie and shook her and I heard blade clash with flesh.

"Christie... don't be dead..." I whimpered, shaking her. Omen and I used our strongest healing abilities as she spluttered and coughed blood, sitting up and looking at me.

"C'mon Angie... you think I'd die that easy?" She smiled. "Besides, I'm not the one who's gonna die..." Before I could ask, or understand what she meant, the clouds around us begun to fade around us.

* * *

Eventually, we found ourselves back inside the Northern Crater, just at the entrance to the core. We all went around healing one another, making sure everyone was okay, and keeping an eye on the core incase Lifestream shot out.

"We should go, Angie," Christie said to me, hand on my shoulder. I nodded, still looking down at the Lifestream. "Angie... it's over... Sephiroth's dead. Cloud killed him. He's dead." No... he isn't... he's not... "... Angie?" I turned around and wrapped my arms around Christie, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you for everything... I love you like I would a sister... thank you, I'll make it all stop now," I told her before pulling away and running back into the core. Christie screamed for me to stop, but it was too late as I felt Lifestream piercing through my body and tearing me apart.


	85. Beyond the Surface

Beyond the Surface

I breathed in sharply as my eyes snapped open. I looked around to find myself back in the place where we had fought Jenova hours earlier. Sephiroth stood with his back to me. Not in that horrible Angelic form, but his human form. The form I had seen when he... murdered. When he killed so many...

"Hello again, Lullaby," I cringed at the name. "Come to see the world be destroyed?" He chuckled, looking up. "Only a few hours left now until I become a God."

"A few hours?" I panicked before collecting myself, quickly losing my calm again. "But we destroyed you! We destroyed you and we had six days left! How is that possible!?"

"I've not been here long, but I've been waiting for Meteor to strike," He told me, his voice low and angry. "I tried to stop Cloud, but he destroyed my control over Holy, so I transferred all my power to Meteor. I kept my control over Holy long enough for it's power to do more harm than good. It will be easy for Meteor to destroy the world." I didn't understand... how did we suddenly jump forward six days? Did it truly take that long for us to reach the Core? Or was it due to that distortion that caused us so much agony?

"Sephiroth..." I calmed myself, taking out my blade and gripping it tightly. "You're getting no more chances. You _will_ die," Sephiroth chuckled again, turning to face me, his sword in his hand.

"Oh one of us will die, but it will not be me," He smirked. "And when you do die, I'll use your God powers to become even stronger." I growled, staring him in the eye as I ran towards him and hacked his chest. He dodged quickly by stepping back, blocking my every swing with little effort behind it.

Growling I blocked his blows as he slammed down his sword both gracefully and powerfully. I used more effort than he did but wasn't overwhelmed by his strength, I had to be faster in order to be on par with him. I blocked another strike and blasted him with fire which allow me to gain the upper hand for a few seconds, kicking his chest and attempting to strike even though Sephiroth had recovered and blocked, pushing me back.

Sephiroth jumped up to a higher platform and shot down Lifestream I hacked atm jumping onto another platform and blasted fire at him, which he easily dodged and appeared in front of me and grabbed me by the throat, throwing me a fair distance across the area.

Quickly I leapt up and fought mid-air with the silver haired man, attacking and blocking with speed and as much strength I could muster. Sephiroth smirked and pushed me down into the ground. I coughed as dust caught in my throat and I choked, blocking Sephiroth when I spotted him from the corner of my eye. The sparks from our swords blinded me a little for a few seconds allowing Sephiroth to kick me harshly in the side, cracking my rib.

I rolled over to avoid Sephiroth's blade stabbing me and got up, holding my side where he had kicked me. He could kick harder than Christie and _that_ was saying something. I blasted him with a fireball quickly and leapt up, landing behind him and hacking him in the back.

Ducking an overheard swing I blocked his sword again, realising that this fight could go on for eternity as we were both as strong as the other. I was... as strong as Sephiroth now... if I tapped into my dormant powers... could I be stronger? That would risk Minerva... wait...

I took hold of my brother's sword and changed my stance, narrowing my eyes at Sephiroth who merely smirked at me. His smirk vanished when the Calixto Orb glowed and I spread my wings and my body lit up in golden flames. After a second or two Sephiroth smirked and released a single black wing on his right side.

Screaming I ran to Sephiroth once again, blocking his attacks with one blade and attacking with the other, flying above him and he quickly followed. My sword ignited and I blasted him with savage fury, cutting his face and chest and burning him with gold fire.

He fell to the ground and showed no mercy as I stabbed him in the chest with one blade, and in the wing with the other, kicking his sword away from him as my fire around me grew stronger. Clenching my fists and burned a hole through his chest. Eventually when I understood that he would not be able to move the fire around my body died down and I calmed myself, falling to my knees exhausted.

"The powers of a God are wasted on you," Sephiroth spoke. I knew he was still alive. Even after all we've done he just... wouldn't die... his will is too strong. That is his real power, his true power source. Not Meteor, not Jenova, not the Lifestream...

"They'll die along with you..." I grumbled. Sephiroth scoffed and examined the blades impaling him.

"Genesis would be proud to see his sword defeating me... for once," He chuckled darkly. Genesis... I looked at Sephiroth with narrowed eyes.

"Where is my brother?"

"Curious, are we?" He would toy with me about this. "Haven't seen your brother since Nibelheim... such a nostalgic time," Sephiroth smirked at me. "Tell your brother thank you, should you find him. Without him I would never have taken the Planet back for my mother. She would be proud of him for revealing the truth to her son." I growled at the man as he laughed madly. A laugh like his father...

"You don't know where he is," I stated. "And I won't pass on the message because you're going to die!" I stood up and twisted my sword in his chest, my brother's in his wing. It made him growl lowly in pain.

"As will you," He told me. "Do you know where we are?" I looked at him strangely. "We're inside Meteor. When it hits I'll be at the core of the wound, ready to absorb the Lifestream and Holy, and your own power. I will be God. A true God." Inside Meteor? How was that... I smiled at him in a cruel way.

"The Goddess wouldn't allow it," I informed him. "She will... 'protect' the Planet. This is the threat to Gaia. You are in it, I am in it. She will use her power over the Lifestream to destroy, as you said Holy is doing more harm than good, after all," Sephiroth's face dropped at that information. I continued to smile cruelly. "She wants me dead. I've used my God powers now, or a part of them, enough for her to track me here," I jumped back as a trendily of Lifestream suddenly appeared, piercing through Meteor.

"And she will destroy Meteor..." Sephiroth snarled. Laughing, I nodded.

"Yes, and destroy you with it!" I told him, feeling victorious over the fallen Soldier.

"What of it? She's after you so that means she will kill you along with me," I knew that. "If I die, you will die with me," More Lifestream burst through Meteor, giving Sephiroth little time. "Lullaby, Angevale, know this: Beneath the surface of looks and virtue we are exactly the same. Murderers, insane, bloodlusting and cold blooded. I want destruction and so do you. Never think that we are different." Maybe he was right. Maybe we were the same. It didn't matter now.

"You will also die should I, Sephiroth," I told him, unafraid of my fate as Lifestream tore the place apart. "And you know what? If it means that you and the Superiors will die I will gladly sacrifice myself to ensure you will never return!"

I didn't mean what I had said. It was a moment of madness as my fate drew nearer. I wasn't scared, I just wanted to invoke a fear in Sephiroth. If I succeeded in that I don't know. I wanted to make him afraid of returning in any shape of form. I wanted to make him know that if he ever returned, I would be there. I would beat him back down to the Hell he rose from. Every single time.

But I couldn't die. Christie wouldn't forgive me for that, knowing her. Besides, I won't die. I'm needed on Utopia. Oblivion needs me there.

My duty is calling me. The time is near...

Death to the Superiors.


	86. End of the World

End of the World

"What the Hell was she thinking!?" I screamed, watching Holy erupt from the earth and cause so much damage so the world rather than saving it. "We're fucked! We're gonna die! After all that fucking trouble! Omen for fuck's sake answer your phone!" I yelled, making him jump and pull out his phone.

"Hello?" He said, his eyes darting from us to his phone. "Nevina? What are you..." He kept silent for a few moments, nodding along to what was being said. "Uh-huh... calm down... yeah... I'll try... okay bye, good luck," He hung up and put his phone away. "That was Nevina, she's asking for help evacuating people from Midgar. Like, right now."

"Yuffie, Vincent, Omen," I rhymed off quickly. Omen ran and grabbed the two of them, leaving the Airship and rushing to Midgar. I wasn't too sure how they got there, or if they made it in time. I stared at Meteor, curling my hands into fists to stop myself shaking. I mumbled to myself, the same words over and over.

"How're gonna stop this thing?" Cid spoke up. I shook more, not blinking, terrified and ashamed.

"It's over... it's over..." I mumbled. "It's over... we failed... he won... we can't do anything..." I bit my lip. I can't believe this happened. All we've fought for... we failed. We can't save the world now. "... Cid, take the Highwind to Kalm... please..." I hung my head in shame. After all this time... I guess I wasn't a hero if I couldn't save the world.

"What do we plan to do there?" Tifa asked me, sounding incredibly unsure. I turned to her, shaking less as I accepted death.

"... Wait."

* * *

I jumped off the Highwind before the door had fully opened and ran into Kalm. A lot of people were indoors, afraid of seeing the thing that would kill them. However, the Turks weren't afraid. Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng stared up at the sky. Reno spotted me and ran to me. I had begun to shake again. I was so surprised at how badly this was affecting me.

"I couldn't... we couldn't stop him..." I said shakily. Reno's hands were on my shouldersand he squeezed them gently. I bit my lip to shut myself up and to stop blubbering. "And Angie... Angie's gone. She jumped into the Lifestream. She said she'd stop it but it's too late."

"Hey, hey," Reno pulled me close to him as I started to fall apart. The only thing I was really good at... I couldn't save the world. That's all I've ever been good at. That has been my life. Now I can't do that anymore... "It's gonna be fine. You know that. You know you've done what you had to do to stop it. Now you just gotta let someone else take care of the rest."

"I can't... Holy's destroying the Planet just as much as Meteor..." I whined, squeezing my eyes shut. "We're doomed, it's all over now..."

"Okay, now I know you're a real softie at heart," I looked up at him confused. Was this really the time? "What? C'mon you know people show their real nature in times of impending doom. You're a softie," I hit his chest out of frustration. "Ow, six days gone and this is what I get?"

That I didn't understand. We had six days to stop Meteor. Now we have a few hours, if that. It only took roughly a day to reach the core, maybe a little less. How did time go by so fast? Unless... that distortion... when I could see pasts, presents... and futures? Did... we get propelled forward five or six days?

"This isn't making sense..." I mumbled as Reno hugged me again. I turned to stare at Meteor as it and Holy destroyed everything. I gripped onto Reno out of a feeling of anger as I couldn't do a damn thing to stop this...

Then... it happened.

Lifestream burst out and arrived from all directions, clashing and piercing Meteor, tearing it apart and pieces of the Black Materia's spell crashed down onto Midgar. A great light blinded us for several moments before allowing us vision again. There was nothing to see. Meteor was gone.

"What... the fuck?" Reno mumbled. I looked up at the starlight sky, Lifestream floating down in little droplets. It was... so beautiful. That moment... just watching it. The experience was familiar. When Sins was defeated and watching Pyreflies float away... at Vegnagun's defeat I felt no such sensation. But now... the feeling I had was the same as seven years ago... quiet victory. With... the loss... the loss of...

My best friend.

"Angie..." I dropped to my knees, staring at the sky. After minutes of realisation and acceptance I unexpectedly burst into tears. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop crying.

Angie was gone. She was gone. And I didn't know when I'd see her again. And I couldn't tell her... that Oblivion would die... that Fina commited suicide... I hoped... she would know... before Oblivion died...

I've paid the same price for peace for seven years. Loss of my family, friends, my life... sadness. Grief would be a stronger term. Grief and agony. That's what has to be paid. No matter what the circumstances, no matter who you are, what you've done, how hardened you've become. Grief and agony will surface and it will be the price you pay. All to make everyone else in this fucking world happy.

* * *

And that's it over... that is if we didn't have the Aftermath Arc to deal with.


	87. To Aerith

To Aerith

The morning after Meteor was destroyed we had all eventually found ourselves in Aerith's church. We didn't realise where we had been walking. We just walked. We walked mindlessly through Midgar and found ourselves there. It wasn't intentional, but we were meant to end up there. Even if we had no idea where it was. We just ended up there.

The flowers were still growing, despite lack of care... maybe it was a sign that Aerith was still there. Maybe it was luck. Who knows? We all just stared at the flowers, remaining silent. This was a way of saying thanks to her. Respecting her.

Aerith, you were a good friend. A good compainion. We'll never forget you.

"What now?" Omen, always the one to lift silence. It was in his nature to, and that was something we came to accept. I wonder if we were waiting for Omen to break the silence, or were we really? Gah I should stop thinking. "I mean... who'll take care of the flowers?" He was talking about that? "I mean... sure they've been taken care of somehow without her, but it won't always be like that. They will whiter and die, and then there will be nothing to honour Aerith's memory." He was right. The last thing we wanted was the memorials of our friends to disappear.

"Well... Cloud and I... we're got no where to go now... we could stay and take care of them," Tifa eventually suggested. Cloud was more than willing to agree. It wasn't too long before the silence arrived again. It felt really cold and I eventually just walked out. I didn't hear anyone call on me to come back so I thought it was okay for me to leave.

* * *

I clenched my fists constantly and uncontrollably, becoming used to my habit. I felt my eyes sting before shaking my head and kicking at rubble. I had never acted like this any other time Angie had left. She could be sitting in the Northern Crater cursing at the spirit of Lucrecia or something. She could be with Oblivion... her uncle who is going to die.

Why the fuck did I not tell her that he was gonna die!? Fuck knows when I'll see her again! Fuck I'm such an idiot!

In anger I threw a punch into a wall, tearing it down with unexpected strength. I felt anger swell within me again. It made me go out of control as I tossed rubble around, breaking it and venting out frustration. I covered my face and screamed out. Fucking fuck fuck fuck...

"Oh fuck you Angie... fuck you fuck you fuck you..." I grumbled, sitting down on the ground and rocking myself a little. That idiot she has no idea what's she's doing!

"Ehhh, wit?" I turned around and stood, seeing Nevina approach me, swords in her hands. Thoses were Angie's swords. Her own and that brother of hers. "Eh... Christie?"

"... Why do you have her swords?" I asked, nodding to her blades.

"Ehh, well after Meteor was destroyed... they jist dropped doon, ken?" She explained. "I thought... ye'd want them?"

"What does it matter? Angie's gone, she can't use them," I stated bitterly, turning away from her. Clearly Nevina didn't take it kindly. I heard the swords become embedded in the ground and she spun me around to slap me in the face.

"Don't fecking take it oot on me, we hardly know one another!" She snapped. "I didn't let my best friend treat me like that and by fuck am I gonnae let a stranger dae the same!" I stood baffled at her attitude. She stared at me seriously.

"... Sorry, I don't deal with things well... well I deal with them violently," I shrugged. Nevina backed down and took the swords.

"Look, I barely know Angie, but she's ma future sister-in-law-"

"What?"

"Sister-in-law, I'm engaged tae her brother," She stated casually. "Anyway, if yer no gonnae take the fecking swords... at least come wi' me tae take them tae Banora."

"To Ultima's grave..." I finished. Well I suppose it would be nice... wait did she think Angie was dead?

"Aye... their mum deserves a piece of her kids by her," Nevina reasoned. "And... ye know... a memorial? Like the one in the church all yer mates are in?" She was right... but they... well Angie wasn't dead. I couldn't say the same for her brother. Still I'd let her keep her hope. And I go to Banora with her to put the swords to rest.


	88. To Angevale

To Angevale

It was the day after that me and Nevina went to Banora. Nevina had told me that she had never been to Banora personally, but Genesis had told her a lot of stories about it and described it with such detail that she could see it in her head. We we dropped off at Mideel and walked our way to the ruins. I think Nevina was disappointed when we arrived, but she had known that the place was destroyed.

I held Angie's sword in my hand, while Nevina had Genesis'. We approached Ultima's grave and stood infront of it. Nevina rubbed her eyes with her free hand before twisting her engagement ring on and off her finger. I walked closer to the grave and embedded the sword into the ground by the stone. The Kalm girl had then done the same with the other sword on the opposite side of the grave.

"... Will they come back?" Nevina asked. "I mean... Genesis 'as been gone longer than his sister... I don't want them tae die..." I kept quiet, only staring at Ultima's grave. I took my hand off Angie's sword, closing my eyes and stepping back.

"She won't... they won't..." I mumbled. "I know Angie... she's left before but she's always come back... they're strong and Rhapsodos' don't die easy," I know she'll come back... well that was what I wanted to believe. I've clung to that belief so much I expected her to be at Kalm or at Aerith's church or maybe she could be there when we go back...

"I hope yer right," Nevina simply said, crouching down onto her knees. "When I first met Angevale, at the bar, I wis so shocked. She looked so much like Ultima, well fae the photos Genesis showed me. They both look a lot like their mum, but I could tell the differences between them."

"I suppose you could..." I mumbled. I could hear myself in the back of my head repeating to myself that Angie will be back. She had to come back... she had to.

"Yeah... I suppose that's for... well another time if ye want really," Nevina rubbed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying not to cry. "I miss him. I want him tae come home. He telt me that I didn't have to in case he did die... but I promised him anyway. I promised I'd wait."

"You're very committed," I complimented.

"Thanks. Yer very committed tae yer friendship with Angie as well," She smiled. She didn't know half of it. "Makes me wonder if Marissa could come back... doubt she will, especially after the way she left."

"The way she left?" Marissa... I remember Reno telling me she was the Turk who used to be Nevina's friend. The one who killed her father.

"She left after Jade Weapon was destroyed, saying she had tae go into hiding," Nevina folded her arms over her chest. "I wasn't sure if she meant from Shinra or her old life... I'm still not sure."

"Old life?" This was certainly getting interesting.

"Marissa's an Angel, half o' one anyway, I knew Genesis wis 'cause of his mum's side," Nevina explained. "I know lots 'bout Angels actually, I know what Ultima used tae be, and what Angevale's mean tae be."

"Meant to be what?"

"The next High Seraph, Genesis telt me that 'cause he's the younger one Angie inherits the High Seraph title once Ultima's dead," Nevina explained. But Angie is supposed to be God. Sighing I turned around and started to walk away. "Oi... where will you go now?"

"... I don't know, I haven't really got a home to go back to," I shrugged. I suppose I could travel more, but I was too tired after what had happened. "I suppose I could stay in Kalm... help rebuild or something. Get more people out of Midgar..."

"No gi' yersel' a break then?" Nevina finished, walking beside me. "I suppose it's tough, after daein all o' that jist tae have no feckin' clue as tae wit yer gonnae dae when yer done wi' it all." She had a point but I always just went back to Besaid when everything was done with. There was no Besaid now. I'd have to start over... not for the first time in my life as well.

* * *

"Hey, you're looking down," Reno put his hands on my shoulders, climbing onto the bed and behind me. "Talk to me." Sighing, I drank some of my beer before gripping the bottle a little.

"I don't know whether to be upset or angry now," I admitted. "I mean, I always get a tiny bit upset but I always end up being furious because Angie left me behind again," I could feel Reno starting to rub my shoulders but I mostly ingored the gesture. "Now I have no fecking clue. I feel like I should be a little angry but that's it."

"Well... you've always said that Angie came back," Reno replied, thinking really hard to try and comfort me or give me some sort of reassurance.

"That's the thing, she jumped right into the Northern Crater then the Lifestream and Holy burst out from it," I stated. "How could she have got through that? I think fighting Sephiroth... it made us all reach our limits we were all close to death fighting him."

A thought passed my mind: I remember five years ago I suggested that we should find any other Connections and Guardians to fight against the Superiors. It could have been possible that Angie's went to do just that but I really doubt it. She would have taken me with her... I guess.

I started to think of someone who had been pushed into the rear of my mind: Malakai. The Saint who was created for the sole purpose of destroying the Threat, my best friend. He helped through my blind phase and trained me, then said he could no longer be with me. He was still stuck in the... the Beyond? I said I could try to get him out but how I had no clue. Malakai was a good friend to me. I felt horrible to leave him behind... maybe I could find him again.

"You even listening?" I jumped a little at Reno's sudden voice. I turned to him, my face blank.

"Sorry, what?" Sighing, Reno sat beside me, setting a hand on my shoulder again.

"Well, to put it quickly, maybe she wanted to give you a life that you never had... I guess?" I stared at him with a raised eyebrow, seeing his point. "Yeah, why don't we see it as that? You can get the life you want?"

"Life of being a hero is all I really know, but I'll try," I told him, kissing his cheek impulsively. I pulled away but Reno immediantly pulled me back and into a hug. I suppose I also had to get used to the idea of a boyfriend again, been ages since I last had one. "Reno?"

"Yeah Chris?"

"You don't suppose Angie wanted to do this on her own?" I asked. I did feel that she left me behind for that reason. I was pulled into her battle, maybe she didn't want me to be drawn in further. Part of me wanted to believe that she hadn't died, that she had went somewhere like she always did. Maybe Utopia.

"Eh... anyone's guess, I mean I don't really know," Reno replied. I suppose so, I nodded at him and put my arms around his neck, hugging him. I forced myself not to cry. That wasn't me I couldn't cry. It just wasn't me to cry.


	89. Adjustment

Adjustment

"Ow..." I grumbled, my infection burning even under Omen's cool healing. The burning became stronger and a gritted my teeth, my fists clenching up. "Ow." Omen tried a little harder and I felt as though my infection was on fire. "Fecking feck Omen!" I yelled and pulled away, glaring at the man across from me.

"You are such a baby," The albino flicked his fringe out of his eye and pushed up his glasses. "Can fall out of buildings, destroy trains and the like yet you can't handle a little infection."

"... It's _black_ Omen," I pointed to my left, blind eye, where horrible, black tissue had begun to fester in the past few months. It was now the first summer without the threat of Meteor, Sephiroth or Shinra around. It was now June, nearly July come to think of it.

"I know," Omen nodded, smiling. I sighed and put on the eyepatch so affectionately given to me by Reno when my infection became too noticeable to cover with eyeshadow. That was a month ago I think.

"No you don't, you bleed black blood anyway," I scoffed, making my friend laugh.

"True, true," He said, standing up and walking to the window. "How's Nevi? I haven't seen her in ages."

"Oh yeah she's fine," I answered, looking to the door since I thought Tifa had come back. I drank the coffee in front of me before going on. "Her infection's getting pretty noticeable now, on her left hand. Other people around the area are getting the infection as well."

"Yeah, me and Cid got shocked when Shera contracted it," Omen sat back down, lounging over the seat across from me, an arm and his head resting on the table. I raised my good eye at him and he nodded as well as he could with his head on the table. "A lot of people are getting it nowadays. It's been happening since Meteor got destroyed."

"Connection?"

"You know as well as I do that's probably the case," Omen then sat up and smiled as Tifa came into the room. "Heya Tifa! How are you? Wait is your hair shorter? I loved your long hair it was so pretty. Well it's still pretty but I guess I was just used to seeing you with long hair. Wow let me take a look." Omen's quick talking made both of us laugh at him to which he looked at us funny and folded his arms. "I compliment someone and I get laughed at."

"Not what you say, it's the way you say it," Tifa smiled. I drank the rest of the coffee before wandering over to the sink and washing the empty cup mindlessly. I blinked a few times before drying the cup and sighing. Ever since the infection had grown worse I had started to feel a change. I could feel myself grow more... tired. I felt tired and weak. Some nights I would wake up shaking in cold sweats.

It wasn't because of the infection though. I was mourning. My body and mind were drained so badly I could only really concentrate on work and my illness. Omen used to ask me if I wanted to talk, soon realising it was useless. Nevina preoccupied herself with helping those still in Kalm. Reno had no idea what to do. He would run his fingers through my hair, whisper that it was okay. All that really plagued my mind was what I had done to my best friend. Oblivion will die, Fina committed suicide, both had sworn me to secrecy. I didn't want to yet I still did it. At times I wanted to speak to Vincent about it, as he knew probably better than I did, but he vanished not long after Nevina and I came back from Banora. He left his PHS so we have no way to contact him.

Nanki returned to Cosmo Canyon to take over his grandfather's work, having learned he died during our fight in the Crater. Cid and Omen went back to Rocket Town, helping rebuild it after the rocket launching. Cait Sith shut down, Reeve finally meeting us face to face. He is helping build Edge, the new town outside of Midgar. Yuffie went back to Wutai to help her people. Barret, Cloud, Tifa and I stayed. We built Edge. It may still be under construction for the most part but we built this place. We saved all these people. We had to help rebuild.

Cloud had started a delivery business which I helped with from time to time. Was still pretty bad at motorcycling but I could get from A to B quick enough. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists. No... no I couldn't.

"Chris, you okay?" I opened my eyes and turned to Omen and Tifa. I nodded calmly, convincing them I was. Omen leaned back on the table, staring at me. "How's Reno doing?"

"Reno's fine, he and the other Turks are heading to Healin to rebuild there, or go their separate ways or something," I shrugged. "I'm heading to Healin as well."

"Why not stay? We could really use your help," Tifa suggested. I could understand she wasn't comfortable with me seeing the man who destroyed Sector 7. But she'd have to get used to that idea.

"I know Tifa, but I'll be around a lot, I'll just live further away. Get to travel back and forth," I told her. "Call me a sentimentalist but it's what I want."

"What'll the Turks do?" Omen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not sure, I mean like everyone else they'll have to adjust to something new, right?" It was a lie. They were going to Healin because Rufus was there. He had been taken there, or been found there, while we were fighting Hojo. They had vowed to protect the President no matter what. Reno made me promise not to tell. There are too many people who want Rufus dead. I had even seen the man in person. He was researching the disease from Hojo's files. How he found them he wouldn't say but he insisted I help. I do when I can, but I convinced him to only call on me if it's an emergency to avoid suspicion.

The three of us turned to the phone as it rang. Tifa went to answer it as I felt Omen's eyes on me again.

"You moving in with Reno?" He asked. I folded my arms and nodded in reply. "Wow, and you've only really officially been going out. You'll drive each crazy. I mean I've never moved in with my boyfriends and they drove me crazy anyway."

"I think you got there first," I remarked. "And if it doesn't work out it's fine."

"Except that it wouldn't be," Omen stood up straight as he spoke. "Look I won't get into it, I'd rather keep all my teeth, it's just what I think, okay?" Tifa broke our conversation by hitting down the phone and turning to us.

"Christie, find Cloud, you have to go now," She tried to say calmly but it ended up sounding frantic. I instinctively ran out of the bar and got on my bike, pulling out my phone and phoning Cloud. It rang out for little while and I growled.

"C'mon you blonde son of a..." It went to messages and I put my phone away, going with my instincts and driving away from the bar. "Cloud you better be easy to find."


	90. Growing Distance

Growing Distance

Shifting my weight I let the bike skid to a halt and I got off it, running to Aerith's old church. Cloud was with a child there, a young boy. He was leaning against Cloud's bike, holding his head, nearly unconscious. The blonde looked at me and stood up as I approached.

"Cloud what is going on?" I asked, keeping my voice low. I folded my arms waiting for a response that Cloud hesitated to give me. I raised my eyebrow in wait.

"... I found him here."

"And you didn't think to take him to Tifa's?" I asked, knowing that he had just stayed with the kid. "Cloud..." His phone started to ring again, sitting on the side of his bike. I pointed to it, sighing. "Answer that." Again he hesitated and I moved to answer it for him he immediantly grabbed the phone and walked away.

The boy groaned a little and I crouched down beside him, my Cure Materia glowing as I held it.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked softly, putting my hand on the boy's shoulder. He looked up at me, startled. "It's alright. What happened to you?" He clutched his head more and I noticed black liquid trickle down his palm and he whimpered. I squeezed his shoulder a little and hushed him. "It's okay, it's okay."

"I don't know what to do..." He whimpered.

"It's okay, we'll help you, okay?" He was getting closer to losing consciousness, so I sat with him and tried my best to comfort him. Cloud returned and stood in front of us, so I stood as well, staring him in the eye.

"I'm taking him to Tifa's."

"You needed Tifa herself to tell you that?" I asked, wondering why he didn't just go. Cloud then picked up the boy and put him on the bike, ignoring me.

"Tifa said to take you home, kid," He said, getting on his bike himself. "Grab on." The boy then slumped forward and fell asleep. Cloud revved his bike and put on his sunglasses. Before he could leave I grabbed his arm, making him flinch.

"What is your problem, Cloud?" I asked. I knew him well enough that he was hiding something. He tugged his arm away but I kept a grip on it, my nails ripping the fabric and underneath I seen on his arm was a sickly black blotch. He realised I had seen it and immediantly drove away, leaving me behind at the church.

Sighing, I looked at the black liquid that had managed to stain my hand. Wiping it on my shorts I put my hands on my hips, walking around then kicking at a piece of metal on the ground. Looking around a little more I felt tempted to go inside the church. I had no one stopping me after all.

Pushing open the door I ventured inside the church, my footsteps echoing in the hollow room. By the flowers there was a crate and a blanket with a pillow. Cloud lived here now? Why wouldn't he tell anyone? Why didn't he say he had the infection? Sighing again I shook my head, seeing no reason why he had to hide. I thought he was past that. Apparently not.

I took my phone out my pocket and flipped it open, looking at me message from Reno.

_Need you at Healen ASAP. Rufus has something for you xxxx xxxx xxxx_

I closed my phone and put it away, walking out of the church and jogging to my bike, getting on it before staring up at the church. I smiled a little to myself then set of to Healen.

* * *

Pushing open the door to Rufus' lodge, seeing the former President staring out of the window. His left eye and neck bandaged up and his right hand covered in the infection. His eye and neck were badly damaged in the explosion but he still has vision in both so he won't be half blind like me. There could be scarring, but I have yet to see it since he doesn't allow me to help in changing bandages.

The blonde man turned to me and nodded in greeting, to which I nodded back. We weren't friends exactly, but he was Reno's boss and friend so I had to accept that. I kept my distance from him, keeping my tongue held for a little while.

"... Reno said you had something?" I eventually said, staring at the man. Rufus nodded again, looking out of the window again, beconing me to look outside with him. I complied, looking out to see Reno outside with Rude, Tseng and Elena. Cissnei wasn't there though. They had been searching for her since Meteor was destroyed. "You called me here to watch Reno have lunch?"

"No, we'll join them later," Rufus replied with a small smirk on his lips. "I actually called you here about our infections," I kept looking down at the scenery outside, watching as the Turks sat together at a table chattering away. "After recovering documents and data from the Shinra building, I think I now may understand what has caused this infection to arise." The President directed me to his room. I followed him to his desk and he sat down, pushing forward several papers towards me, as though he was inviting me to read them.

"You think? You mean it may not be... valid?" I asked as I read the papers.

"As you know, the populace believes Mako is responsible for this infection," Rufus nodded, leaning forward. "Christie, Reno has told me you had your doubts. As do I. Surely if Mako, if Lifestream, was responsible there would have been records of it." I looked up and raised my eyebrow at him.

"Something else, then," I agreed with his unspoken theory. Rufus nodded and went on.

"As we both know, there are possibilities that no one else has considered: the arrival of Sephiroth and the arrival of Angevale," I stared him in the eye with my own, our gazes locked as he had my interest. "Of course, I doubt your friend could be the cause of such a disease... the direct cause anyhow."

"You're saying Angie did this?" I asked, getting defensive about my friend.

"I said _indirectly_, Christie, relax," Rufus responded. "She and Sephiroth have a connection, perhaps that connection is a reason behind the infections." I could think of only one connection those to had.

"You mean Jenova, don't you?"

"Of course," Rufus nodded as I went back to reading the papers. "However, I doubt that people will believe that Shinra isn't to blame here."

"Secrets? Shouldn't they know what they're facing here?" I asked logically. I could see his point but my concern was trying to stop the infection from spreading. Well... redemption for Reno and the Turks and Rufus too.

"Rather to ease them in after all that has happened," Rufus reasoned. "It is... easier for people to blame Shinra for one more mistake." Nodding I finished reading the paper, taking off my eyepatch and wiping my eye, black seeping from it like pus. I wiped it on a tissue before looking at Rufus again.

"So what now then?"

"Doesn't something like this need a name?" Rufus asked. "This is a disease to the people, so surely it must need a name." Sighing I crossed my arms over my chest.

"It reminds me of the Northern Crater," I stated. "One horrific wound that weakens the body as it tries to heal it."

"You have an idea then?"

"Planet Scar Syndrome?" I offered. I was coming to realisation that Rufus wanted _me_ to announce the disease's name to the world. I was becoming his eyes and ears. He couldn't rely on the Turks for that anymore as they were as shunned as he is, if the world knew he was alive. "Well, that's the best I've got, unless there's something else in mind?"

I still couldn't believe I had spent my afternoon debating on what to call a disease. I felt that I was out of my comfort zone, not to mention I was bored out my skull too. If being a Turk was like this I'll ask Reno how he endured.

Eventually Rufus and I decided that it could be referred to as either Planet Scar Syndrome or Geostigma. Both because of their nature of erupting from the Lifestream and Sephiroth. I didn't understand how Sephiroth managed to survive. That could mean Angie's alive somewhere too. It still felt like all of our hard work was for nothing, though. Defeating such a powerful man only to allow him to pollute the Lifestream and infect people with... this.

Unless we could find a cure we were screwed. But, really, how can you cure someone from a person's will?

* * *

Finlly. Finnal finished. Two years of work I put into this. Ah well, no rest for the wicked, onto the sequels.


End file.
